Oops Did We Get Married?
by Renegade Ace
Summary: What would have happened if it wasn't Nicole who went on the cruise with Luke? What if one of the Gilmore Girls went in her stead? AU summer at the end of season 3.
1. That's Some Souvenir

What if Luke had gone on the cruise with Lorelai instead of Nicole?

Pretty much AU after the end of season 3. Sookie and Lorelai are buying the Inn, Luke and Nicole are dating, Jess is gone, Rory has just graduated and Emily and Richard are paying for Yale.

Also, I own nothing. Not even the computer I typed this on. That was borrowed. Borrowing things is fun. Hence the birth of fanfiction. Fanfiction is good. Monkey monkey underpants.

~G.G~

Um... Did We Get Married?

Part 1: That's Some Souvenir

"Rory! Rory, where are you?" Lorelai yelled as she came into the front door, panic in her voice as she dropped her bags in the foyer, moving towards her daughter's bedroom, where she knew the teenager would be, "Mommy needs to talk to you!"

"What did you do now?" Rory asked, half joking, meeting her in the kitchen, open book in hand.

Lorelai stopped short, whatever chaos she was about to unleash temporarily forgotten. "What?"

"You only refer to yourself as 'Mommy' when you want something or you've done something you don't want me to give you grief about."

The taller woman's hands fell by her side, a look of pride covering the fear her face previously wore. "You know me too well."

Rory nodded. "Since the day I was born."

The frown returned and the initial train of thought successfully derailed. "I knew I should have switched you at birth. There were so many other babies there I could have chosen from. I could have gotten a doctor, or a construction worker, or a circus clown!"

"Or a therapist."

"Probably'd need two to figure out my problems kid," she admitted, remembering what had started the conversation in the first place. "There's something I have to tell you."

"Mom," Rory urged, sitting down with her mother at the table, at the place where they often talked about the things that shook their individual worlds. Here, the teen feared, her own anxiety growing, would be just another example to add to the already long list, "What's going on? Did something happen on your trip? Is Luke okay?"

"He's fine." Lorelai inhaled deeply, hoping the calming effects would be passed down to her offspring. She knew her daughter well enough to know that she was going to need it. "Promise you'll stay calm?"

This only worried Rory more. "Calmer than you seem to be."

"That's not saying much."

"Mom!"

"Okay, so going on cruises, not my thing. The water does something to me. It makes me sick."

"Seasickness is pretty common."

She choked back a laugh. "Oh, I only wish it had been seasickness. But no, I got the special kind of sick. The Kirk kind of sick. The 'in the head' sick with padded walls and straight jackets."

"Oh, this is so not politically correct," Rory mumbled as Lorelai delved into her panic-induced rant.

"It made me drunk. High. I couldn't think through the fresh air. I was not me. Out on the water, I was not Lorelai Gilmore. I was someone else. I was my evil twin. And since I wasn't me, there is no way I am responsible for my actions..."

"Oh my god! Did you sleep with Luke?"

"If only! That I could handle, salvage in some way." Shaking her head, always one for the dramatic, Lorelai took her daughter's hand in hers, "No Kid, I would have been lucky if that was the only thing I did."

Rory took her hand back. "Only? So you did sleep with Luke?" Lorelai nodded. It was Rory's turn for panic-rant. "Mom! It's Luke! You shouldn't have done that to him. What's going to happen to your friendship? Can we still talk to him? Can I still talk to him? I like Luke! Will I be able to have coffee at the diner?" She paused, her face twisting as though in mental pain, "Will I be able to look at him without thinking about how he slept with my mother?"

Lorelai felt bad for her daughter, for what she was putting her through. Knowing that she wasn't done, she did the only thing she could do: she patted Rory's hand, and resorted to jokes. "Way to stay calm there, hon. I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet."

"Worst part? Can I handle the worst part? Are you making me an accessory by telling me this? Will I need a lawyer to hear what the worst part is?"

Lorelai flinched. Rory had gotten closer to the mark than even her mother thought she would at this point. "No, you won't. But I will."

"What?"

"I got married!"

'W-what? Married? You! To Luke! Mom!"

"Your step-father can cook! Good news there. We're sure not to starve now. And I think we now qualify for the family discount."

"Not helping."

"Sorry. Are you okay there, kid?"

"You and Luke? I need to sit down."

"You are sitting down," Lorelai pointed out, her panic fading in the face of her daughter's. Her motherly instincts took over and in that moment the only thing that mattered was that Rory was taking everything in stride.

"And you! You need to tell me everything that happened."

She rose an eyebrow. "Everything?"

Rory frowned, catching the innuendo in her mother's tone. Nothing grounded the teenager quite like dealing with her mother's quirks. "PG-13 no higher. And this? This is so going in my book."

"See, Mommy is providing you with the material to be on the top-seller's list. Don't be mad at me."

"I'm too in shock to be mad yet. So spill it sister!"

~TBC~

More to come. Please R&R so I can update quickly!


	2. The Love Boat

Part 2: The Love Boat

It began simply enough at the beginning of summer. Lorelai came into the diner, as she did every day. So often that she figured she could make the trip blindfolded and fast asleep. The scent of Luke's coffee could carry her across the country. But, on this day, she was carried through his door in a bad mood. It was the Saturday after Rory graduated and if she had ever thought the universe was against her before, now she swore it had come back for round two with the gloves off and spiked, brass knuckles on it their stead.

She flopped onto a stool at the counter, noting the less than chipper way that Luke greeted her.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, pouring her coffee without waiting for her to ask for it.

"Well hello to you too, Mr. Chippy," she snipped, before calming herself, realizing how harsh it sounded when he gave her that look. "I'm sorry. It's just been a really bad couple of days."

He took out his rag and started to wipe down the counter, bringing out her perfected impression of someone who didn't really care one way or the other if she told him or not. "Want to talk about it?"

"No... yes... AH!" She dropped her hands and head down to the counter before Luke pushed her forehead back up, and wiped down where it had just been resting. "We're not going to Europe," she whined, eyes closed, her head still against his hand.

"What?" He asked, suddenly not hiding his interests in her complaints, "You've been planning that damn trip for years. Everything I know about Europe I learned from listening to you two. What happened?"

"Everything. Our airline not only lost our booking but is going out of business - that's the last time I let Rory book online! - and now the tickets are really expensive to book them so close to when we had wanted to leave. So, even if we could swing the exact dates, which have already been book up, with the extra cost on the tickets we can't go everywhere we wanted to. Rory crunched the numbers, because I accidentally birthed an accountant, and said that we'd have to cut out at least a quarter of the countries to do them justice. "

"So? Why can't you do that?"

She sat there a moment, looking at him in that way she had, as though she wasn't sure if she was listening to someone speaking English or not. "You can't just see part of Europe, Luke. You can't do this half-assed. We can't do this half-assed."

He rolled his eyes. After this many years, he really should have known better. "Right, sorry, my mistake."

She sighed, looking at her coffee, "Everything is out to get me. Fate is a stupid kill-joy."

"How so?"

She shrugged, knowing he wasn't likely to understand, but still touched that he was always willing to try. "This is the last summer, the last real summer, I have with Rory. She's almost nineteen, she's almost an adult. After this summer I have to share her with the rest of the world."

"So, why can't you go somewhere else?"

"The Inn," she confessed, feeling guilty, "And time. And Yale. And the Gilmore clan. And Christopher."

"Christopher?" He asked in the tone he always had when mentioning Rory's absent father.

She nodded. "Christopher wanted to spend time with Rory before she leaves for Yale, especially since he didn't make it to her graduation. Which, I suppose is fair. And then Richard and Emily, after finding out about our cancelled trip, spent last night guilting her because they wouldn't have been able to see her if she went on this vacation and how they can now take her away when they go on their trip and since they're paying for her school they have pull…" She took a deep breath, pushing aside the never-ending wall of frustration that she felt after talking about her parents. "And then there's the Inn. It costs a lot of money. And Sookie's pregnant and the longer we sit before doing construction and renovations and the copious amounts of paperwork that comes from doing anything in Stars Hollow, the longer it's going to take to get us going which means the longer we go without steady income.

"Being an adult sucks," she announced when Luke put a plate full of her breakfast favourites in front of her. "What's this?"

"Breakfast," he said in the dismissing manner that had taken him years to perfect.

If only it worked on Lorelai Gilmore. "I didn't order breakfast."

He sighed, knowing he was about to get into a fight with the stubborn woman over something he really didn't think warranted comment let alone an argument. "So you didn't want this for breakfast?"

"I didn't say that."

"So what? You're not hungry?"

"I'm always hungry."

He blinked in the face of her blank stare. He had long ago learned that the textbook example of high-maintenance was Lorelai Gilmore. "Then, what's the problem?"

"But I didn't actually order anything. How did you know what I wanted?"

"I saw you coming across the square, and I knew you were in a bad mood from the way you walked. You stomp when you're mad, did you know that? In those shoes, it can't be good for your arches."

"You like me in these shoes. Get back to the point."

"The point?" He tossed his rag down, really not in the mood for her prodding. "The point is that you've been coming here for years. I've seen you in this mood more than once, and usually after a breakup or a fight with Rory or a Saturday after dinner with your parents. And while you're in this mood these are the breakfast foods you like to eat. Why you like to eat so much of the things that are only going to kill you faster is beyond me. I've given up trying to figure out the motivations for your eating habits. I sleep better at nights with that ignorance, I'm sure. But as I didn't want to deal with the production you make of ordering under the best of circumstances," he pressed on when she started to say something, getting a thrill out of the fact that she was smiling, "Let alone the drama-filled minutes you take in these damned moods to decide on the exact same thing you always have, I figured I would save us both the headache and just order for you. Not that that worked." He shook his head. "You are so much work."

She looked at her plate. "Luke?"

"What? And don't tell me you want something different now just to spite me."

"I just…"

"I will kick you out and make you order on paper from now on so I don't ever have to hear you complain about your food ever again."

She smirked, feeling better from when she had walked in. "I was just going to ask for more coffee."

He stopped, his shoulders dropping, the tension that had built over the course of his rant fading away. A smile of his own quirked at his lips before he could force it away and continue on with wiping down the counter.

"So what are you going to do instead of Europe?" He asked after a long moment of companionable silence.

"Me, not a whole lot. I'm not the popular Lorelai in the family. Rory, however, is going to spend a couple weeks in Martha's Vineyard with the grandparents which will probably stretch out into a couple weeks somewhere else overly expensive and then a couple weeks with Chris getting to know her sister. If there's time, somewhere in there, she and I will roadtrip around here as much as possible. Maybe go as far as Canada."

He paused, fixing her with that look again. "What is there to see in Canada?"

"Canadians. And their pretty, coloured money. And maple syrup. And mounties. So there goes a weekend." She paused, taking a large bite, feeling a little better for getting it all off her chest, "What about you?"

He stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"Well you aren't exactly Little-Luke-Sunshine this morning yourself."

"Well, speaking of cancelled trips..."

"No! Not your cruise! What happened?"

He looked around at the sparsely populated diner before leaning towards Lorelai, never one for airing his personal problems to the town gossips. "Nicole and I had a fight. A big one. One that pretty much ended everything."

"I'm sorry, Luke. I thought things were going well."

"So did I until she... nevermind. I swear I don't understand women. Or dating. Or how logic never seems to figure into the picture with either."

"You've known me for how long and you're just figuring out that women aren't always logical? I'm disappointed in both of us. You for being slow and me for not being a better example."

He shrugged. "I was hoping it was just you."

"Ah, clinging to false hopes I see. Why am I picturing the Titanic and the face of the guy who said she was unsinkable as she hit the bottom of the ocean? So what are you going to do? About the cruise, I mean. We know how it ended for Jack and Rose."

"There is no Jack and Rose."

She gasped, "What? Spielberg lied? I'll never trust Hollywood again." Her smile grew when he stopped hiding his own.

He shrugged, falling back to the topic he didn't want to dwell on. "I don't know what we're going to do. We missed the cancellation date by weeks. So I guess I'm going to have to just eat the costs of it. Something that I hate doing: giving the cruise lines that much money for nothing while people on the streets can't even afford a winter coat."

"So poor people is the reason you haven't updated your wardrobe since Kurt got in a fight with Courtney over a shot gun? Good to know. Why cancel?" She asked, jumping back to topic, an evil grin growing on her features, "Why not go anyway? Have some fun. Maybe you'll meet some hot divorcee and you'll forget all about Nicole."

"I don't know..." He said in that tone that Lorelai knew meant she was already half-way to convincing him.

"When was the last time you had a vacation? A vacation that included bathing," she amended knowing his love of going fishing.

"You think? Nah, cruises aren't my thing. And who wants to go alone to one of those things?"

She shrugged, smiling as he refilled her coffee, "So bring a friend. Someone you can have fun with, despite the potential awkwardness that comes from having so many happy-ish couples hanging around. Go on, you deserve it."

"Yeah? Maybe. What about you? What are you doing this summer?"

"Moping, and staring longingly at the backpacks that Rory and I ordered. And work on the Inn, I guess. And miss your coffee when you leave."

"Why don't you come with me?" He asked after a long pause, diving in before he could talk himself out of it.

"With you? On your cruise? Oh Luke, I couldn't..."

He cut her off, "As you said it's non-refundable. Also as you said, I deserve a vacation. One with someone distracting. And because you're going to be stuck here while Rory is off having fun, why not come along? That way you still get your trip, I have a familiar face and I can make sure you stay away from my coffee supplies while I'm away."

"I don't know Luke, I wouldn't want to..."

"To what? The only thing you're at risk of is being tossed overboard when you piss off the ship's captain. Besides… it would be nice to have you there."

She smiled, her hesitation fading in the hesitant honesty in which he had said that. "Yeah?"

Sharing her grin, he nodded, "Yeah."

"Okay, then. We'll go. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too."

~G.G~

"Why haven't you told Grandma yet?" Rory asked quietly over the phone to her mother. She was in Martha's vineyard with her grandparents, and was talking her mother through her last minute packing for the trip that she had thus far managed not to tell the eldest Gilmores about.

"About what?"

"About you going on a cruise? With Luke? You know what she thinks about him. And about what she thinks is going on between you two."

"Of course I know what she thinks, question is how do you know what she thinks?"

Rory shrugged, "I overhear things. And besides, it's pretty much what everyone thinks. There's a definite consensus."

"And by everyone…" Lorelai asked, her question loaded and leading as she put aside her search for the bikinis she bought the day before.

Rory waited when her mother drifted off. "What?"

Lorelai huffed into her phone. "Way to make me think Yale's going to be disappointed when they get you in the flesh. You're suppose to be smart, Rory. You should know what I was asking."

"Well I don't." She whisper yelled, hoping that her mother wasn't asking what she thought she was asking.

"I know that things with me and your Dad have never been normal but that you still had hopes about how that was turning out. I just wondered if since Luke was a part of your life for a long time…"

"If I wanted to call him Daddy?"

Lorelai shrugged, "Something like that."

"I like Luke."

"That's it?"

"Grandma isn't going to like being lied to. She's really not going to like that I'm lying to her."

"Then don't lie to her."

"So you want me to tell her that you're on a romantic cruise with 'the diner man'?"

There was a pause. "No. But, can't we tell her a half truth? Just pretend I'm Lane and my mother is Mrs. Kim."

"You know," Rory began after a moment and a frightening thought, "I don't know which one I'd be more afraid of having catch me in a lie."

"Yeah, me either. If she asks, tell her that I went swimming."

"For two weeks?"

"A lot of swimming?"

"You hate swimming."

"Only in the ocean and lakes. And community pools. People pee in pools. I don't want to think about what animals do in oceans."

"Grandma knows you don't like swimming."

"So tell her I went out sunbathing in hopes of landing myself a lifeguard."

"That's your half truth?"

There was a shrug, "Quarter truth?"

Rory sighed. There were times when talking to her mother really made her wonder why. "Bring the blue and mauve bikinis."

"You sure not the white? After all, it's not after labour day."

~G.G~

Lorelai ran into their room on the ship and jumped on the bed with a squeal, stretching out on the large mattress, leaving Luke to bring in the majority of her luggage. The luggage that he had spent ten minutes complaining about when he had picked her up that morning. 'After all,' he had gripped five different times, 'who needed four bags for a summer cruise? Weren't summer clothes suppose to take up less space?'

"Comfy. And bouncy."

"Ah jeeze." He said, moving the bags that she had abandoned at the threshold far enough into the room to close the door.

"What?" She asked, not in the mood for yet another Luke rant. After so long in the car together, she needed coffee and a meal before she could take another rant. "What do you possibly have against comfy, bouncy beds?"

"There's only one bed."

"So?"

He blinked, not understanding why she wasn't as uncomfortable as he was, "So, there is only one bed. And that's it. No couch."

"So?"

"I'm not sleeping on the floor."

She laughed, really not getting it. "So?"

"We would have to share."

"I don't have cooties, Luke! And I already know that you snore."

He frowned. "I don't snore."

She scoffed.

"I do not... okay, I don't care about the snoring."

"Then what is it? It's a big bed, Luke. And I'm mostly considerate although I have been known to hog the pillows. I promise that I play well with others. I'm a good bed-sharing-buddy."

He straightened, not liking the confidence or the flirty-ness with which she spoke of her bed-sharing skills, "Share your bed often?"

"I meant for sleeping. Nothing dirty. I was talking about Rory," she confessed, a warm smile of remembrance filling her lips as she moved to get more comfortable on the mattress. "Before we moved into our house, we shared a bed ever since she could find her way out of her cradle," her eyes sparkled at the memory, "And actually, there was a two week period after we moved where we still had to sleep together."

"Rory?" He asked, sharing in her comfort of the fond memories. His body was relaxed, arms digging into his pockets.

"Oh, she was fine. I was the wreck. She was growing up so fast. I thought I was losing her."

"Never happen," he said with an assurance that made her find it hard to want to doubt him.

"Well, we have our moments." She murmured, recalling the fights that had grown more common in the past couple years.

"I haven't had as much experience with sharing my bed," he confessed, drawing her out of the possible dark places her thoughts were threatening to go.

"You do have a rather small bed," she allowed. "It'll be okay, you know. We'll have our own sides. As long as you're okay with me taking the left side," she gestured to where she was then laying, "because I can't guarantee that I wouldn't crowd you to get where I'm comfortable."

"Whatever side is fine with me. I don't have a side."

"Small bed," she nodded before falling silent, looking around. "Is this weird for you? Being here with me? Instead of Nicole? I mean, you guys did just break up."

"Not just. It was three weeks ago."

"That's not that long ago."

He shrugged, tentatively sitting on the edge of the bed, "No... yes... I wouldn't call it weird. I mean I kind of knew it was going to happen. That she and I wouldn't end up here."

"Oh?"

"I had a dream," he confessed, hurrying to continue before she threatened to make fun of him, "And when I woke up, I just sort of knew that I had to think about what going on this cruise with her meant and if we were ready for it."

"Some dream. What was it about?"

"You. You came into the diner as I was closing up. It was after Rory's graduation. I remember I was still wearing my suit. You came in and told me not to get engaged."

"Weird. And did dream me give you a reason why?"

"Nope. Just sort of a look before walking away."

"A look?" She wanted to make a joke, to lighten the mood that had grown too serious too quickly. There were many moments when they talked earnestly, but there was always a layer of joviality lying just under the surface, ready to spring at any moment. Even when they were fighting, there was wit to divert the pain from striking too close to home for either of them. But not here. He was sitting on the bed with her, he was being honest in a way that revealed an almost vulnerable aspect of him that she knew that he had always longed to hide. And as much as she was feeling out of her element, she didn't want to break the spell. She liked learning about the man whom, even though she knew for seven years now, was still a stranger to her in so many ways.

"Yeah. You have very expressive eyes. And I kind of understood."

"That's some look."

He withdrew slightly, "It's stupid, I know."

"No, not stupid," she assured him, not wanting to see the walls go back up so quickly. She smiled shyly, somehow knowing the only way for him to reveal more was for her to do it too, "I know the kind of look you mean."

"You do?" He asked, his expression doubtful.

"Yes, it was probably the exact kind of look that you gave me in my dream."

"The one with the..."

"Twins."

He shifted, "I was going to say the one with the alarm clocks, but yeah, there were twins there too. How far along were you? In your dream?"

"I still had my figure, if that's what you mean. And after you talked to my stomach and kissed me, you gave me this look. This look that told me that everything was going to be okay. That I wasn't alone. Considering how far away I felt from Rory at that time... well it was a good look."

"Like going home."

"Mmm," she agreed, smiling again.

They stayed silent for a moment before they caught the dreamy looks on each others faces. Clearing his throat, Luke looked away, hoping he wasn't looking as uncomfortable as he felt, "Kissed? I thought you couldn't remember anything after the talking to your stomach."

She shrugged, "Didn't think you needed all the details. Besides, maybe it would have led to questions about me dreaming of the twin's conception!"

"Ah jeeze."

"So, we okay? To share the bed? Promise I won't bite you unless you want me too."

"Yeah, I guess we're good to share."

"Good. So, shall we see what they have for dinner?"

~G.G~

She was warm when she woke up. She was safe. But it was also early. How was that possible considering how late she and Luke had stayed up? She spent the evening eating and drinking and talking at the giant buffet while Luke laughed and looked embarrassed and tried to keep up.

She moved, drawing herself closer to the warmth beside her, groaning at the light that came through the balcony door. Her hand hit skin: a hand, then up an arm, over to the shoulder that her head was resting against. The weight beside her shifted.

"I thought you said you were a considerate bed partner," Luke grumbled as he settled back against the pillows.

She looked at the bed. She had moved in the night, taking the middle of the bed, crowding closer to Luke.

"Mostly," she corrected, moving away from him, not liking the chill that overcame her as she slid back to her side of the bed, "I said I was mostly considerate."

"Convenient loophole."

"At least I left you with the covers. Did you sleep well?"

He shifted again, somewhat uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't sleep well, it was the opposite. He couldn't remember a time when he had, in fact, slept better. Usually when he was in a new place the first night or two he couldn't sleep well, waking at every sound, most often up before he had to be. But here he was, in a place that was constantly changing with someone he was never the most comfortable with on the basis of who she was and what she was capable of. And he had slept like he'd been there his entire life.

He knew that she had a power over him. A great power. No one had the effect on him that she did. No one could bend his will as she could. No one else would have made him want to go on this vacation as easily as she had. It had taken Nicole months of harassment to make him finally agree. It took Lorelai a matter of minutes before he believed that he had made the decision to take her all on his own. For his own reasons. But he knew better. Deep down, he knew that he had done this - as he had painting the diner and volunteered at any town event and fixed things around her house and not taken the clothes back that she had bought him - for her. To give her what he hoped she wanted. To see her safe and well and happy.

"Luke?" She prodded him, face buried in her pillow, when he didn't answer right away, "You not awake yet?"

"I'm awake."

"Good, I'm not."

He chuckled, looking at her in the sunlight. He couldn't remember ever seeing her raw, as his sister would call it. Without make-up or her hair done or her game face on. He liked her like this, even if she was barely capable of using words with more than one syllable. "I'll make you some coffee. I saw a coffee machine here last night."

"Hero!"

"Just remember that because I'm making you get up for breakfast."

"Judas!"

~G.G~

By the end of the first week they were both convinced that there was magic on board (or drugs in the air as Luke put it, but she figured she knew what he meant). Magic that Lorelai wanted to bottle and bring back with her for her inn. And although he wouldn't agree with her aloud, Luke knew that he wouldn't have minded some of that himself.

Something was happening between them, something that he hoped wasn't just attached to vacations and ocean settings and the amount of rich food and alcohol that ran non-stop onboard. He had gotten used to her sleeping habits: how she would creep closer in her sleep, try to con him out of his pillows and sometimes his blankets. On their third morning, he found that she had taken all the blankets, and while most were no longer on the bed, the single sheet that had survived her slumber was wrapped around her almost like a cocoon. To combat the chill in the air Luke had found that he had gained a different blanket - Lorelai. His arms were wrapped around her tightly as she used his chest as a pillow and had even thrown her leg over his in her sleep. And, despite both of them waking up before the really needing to, neither of them moved away, both silently enjoying the closeness until they figured the other would wake and break the spell.

To Lorelai's amazement, he even let her take him shopping. At least in the way that he let her go shopping on his behalf, charge it to the room and then didn't complain when she had him try things on in their room. She took enjoyment out of seeing him frown at some of her choices, grumble at the ones that he actually liked and give into her expertise more often than not.

It was nice to see each other like this - away from life and the roles so often forced upon them. She got to see him as more than the friend and purveyor of coffee and the sometimes knight who was always ready to ride in to her rescue. And he saw her settled, at ease, not on show or hopped up on sugar or caffeine. Things between them were easy and they flowed and fit together in a way that made them think - just for the moment - that everyone might have a point when they said there was something between them.

~G.G~

"How did I let you talk me into this?" Luke grumbled as Lorelai fixed his tie.

She smiled at him sweetly, "It was really easy," she confessed, "I don't think you really put your heart into the fight. Besides, we only have one night left. Then boom! back into the real world where you are going to deny me coffee and be grouchy and lecture me on eating better."

"How is that any different than what I've been doing these two weeks?" He asked, grabbing her sweater from the bed, "I've lost track of how many times I've tried switching you to decaf - I swear you scared the natives on our last stop - and I've filled your plate with green things every night."

"But you're generally less grouchy. Come on, it'll be fun. We get to eat at the captain's table! Do you know how many people I had to annoy to get us a spot at the captain's table?"

"Probably the same number of people I had to tip extra to to make sure they didn't steal anything or spit in our food."

She frowned. "This is our last night on the ocean. Tomorrow night we'll be back in our own beds. We need to celebrate! This has been a wonderful vacation. You know it has."

Rolling his eyes, he held open the door, "After you. And please, can we not drink that much tonight?"

She laughed, walking past him, "Oh Luke! We're on vacation! What's the worst that could happen?"

~G.G~

Never let it be said that Lorelai Gilmore couldn't be wrong. And when she woke up just hours before the cruise ship pulled into dock, she knew just how wrong it had been to drink as much as she had. Hearing Luke stiffle a groan beside her she knew that he probably felt the same.

Memories filtered back to her slowly. The dinner, the laughing, the dancing that had surprised her at how well he glided her around the room and how readily she followed. The ship's captain. The look. The suggestion. The coatroom. The ceremony. The kiss. The ring... The ring?

She sat up quickly, probably too quickly. But there were too many questions on her mind for her to really not freak out in that moment. She tried to slow her breathing, trying to collect her thoughts from the night before. Beside her Luke was on his stomach, face down into the pillow, trying to stave off waking up for a few moments more.

She had to look at her hand, she knew that was where the answers were. But she couldn't. She glanced to Luke, but his left hand was on her far side, still under the covers. How could he still be asleep? How was she freaking out alone? Getting frustrated she leaned over him, trying to see on him what she refused to see on herself.

Luke woke fully to the pressure on his back, the reaching for his arm. Wanting to swear or worse, to give coffee an actual chance to bring sanity back into his life, he took the offending arm away from her reach, using it to prop himself up with. But it was what she wanted, he figured when she stilled, her face pale. Was she really that desperate for caffeine?

"What the hell is your problem?" He snipped, blinking to bring her in focus.

She pointed to his finger. "Ring."

"What?"

Her gestures grew more frantic before she almost shoved her left hand in his face, grabbing his and pulling it to show he wore one too. "Ring! There's a ring! We got married. How did we get married?"

He swallowed, seeing the metal band on his finger. So that hadn't been another of the dreams that had plagued him all week. Well damn.

Beside him, Lorelai was continuing to not take it well. "Oh my god. How did they let us get married? This place is the freaking Love Boat." She glanced at him, noticing the way he was looking at her for the first time... wondering why he was turning red. "What?"

"We're naked," he filled in, starting to catch up on the implications of what, exactly, was going on. And what he couldn't remember all the details of happening.

Paling, she looked down, glancing under the sheets at herself, then stealing one at him, earning her an angry, Luke-patented, look. "Why are we naked?"

"A couple reasons come to mind. But I don't think gremlins stole our clothes in our sleep."

"Not funny, Luke. This is so not funny. I so need caffeine before I can deal with something like this. Can't think. How did this happen?"

He leaned against his pillow, not liking how shocked and freaked out she was showing herself to be at the prospect of being married to him, of being naked with him, of having sex be the reason she was naked with him. True, while not his proudest moment, it wasn't something that he thought he'd ever take as hard as what she did.

"Lorelai-" he fell silent when he noticed her on the verge of tears. Sighing, not knowing what else to do, he pulled her to him, willing at that moment to do everything he could to make things right. To make her tears stop. To put that smile that he remembered from the night before back on her face.

"Rory."

And he understood the root of the problem. However her issues with being married to him might factor into the problem, it wasn't the source of her anxiety. It was her daughter. It was how Lorelai had gone against all the rules in her life that she had put in place to protect her daughter, all the morals that she had tried to instil in her, and even though Rory was closer to being a woman than a little girl, he knew that she felt guilty for letting her down.

"Shh," he soothed, pulling the blanket up high enough that he could rub her back without touching her skin, the skin he was beginning to recall the feel of, "We'll work it out. I promise, I'll take care of it. Once we settle in back home, I'll find someone and... take care of everything. No one will know it happened."

"I have to tell Rory."

Of course she'd tell her daughter. Her daughter would be the only one who would know about the marriage. About her mother and Luke. Does that mean that she'd also know that they had had sex? How would he face her knowing that she knew that he had slept with her mother? That all he wanted to do right then, as vague memories returned, was to sleep with her again. Man, he thought, blinking rapidly at how uncomfortable his entire life had just become, Oh jeeze.

"Yeah, sure. Of course. But, no one else has to know. What're the odds that someone else would ever find out?"

~TBC~

AN: famous last words!

Please review and follow.


	3. The Thing About Secrets

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed thus far. Please keep it up.

This Chapter Emily finds out the news! Sorry if she's a little OOC in this one. Just know that I know, as everyone knows, that she wouldn't risk Rory's future. It's just desperate times call for desperate measures and temporary threats.

Enjoy.

~G.G~

Part 3: The Thing About Secrets

There were a limited number of prominent families in the state, and Arthur Reynolds prided himself on knowing them all. He spent his life tracking them, finding as much dirt as he could to fill the society section in the Hartford paper. He even took his vacations where he knew he could dig up stories - five star resorts, ski lodges in remote regions and on cruise ships.

It had been years since he last heard the name Gilmore, not since a scandal involving the daughter, a refusal of marriage and a bastard child. It had kept the paper filled with scandal for months. So when he heard it aboard his latest vacation vessel he knew he had a story. Lorelai Gilmore and a thinly veiled romance that her parents wouldn't have approved of. He had kept a close eye on the pair, and when he watched their impromptu wedding by the ship's captain he knew he had the story of the year. He didn't sleep all night for writing. And by the time he docked he had heard back from his editor and not only was this piece good, it was first page of the section good!

~G.G~

Luke sighed tiredly as he went about opening the diner. Despite the events of the tail end of his vacation, the tense silence that filled the drive and the hour of his return, Luke had called Caesar, and told him that he could come in later, that Luke, himself, would take over the opening, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep and that diving into work was the only thing that would save his sanity.

And so it was just him there when, as soon as six am hit, Kirk arrived at the same time as Caesar. As the cook went into the kitchen, Kirk sat directly at the counter, three newspapers in hand.

"What are you doing with all those?" Luke asked, coffee pot in hand, watching as Kirk separated the sections that he wanted from those he didn't.

"I'm looking for a job," Kirk told him flatly as he took apart the Glendale Daily.

Luke sighed. It was too early and he was too tired to try to make sense of Kirk. "Don't you have enough jobs, Kirk?"

"Never too many, Luke. You have to keep your options open. Plus, these are the papers that have all the comics I like to read."

He opened the Hartford Sun in the middle, right to where the comics lay, waiting for him. That was why it was his favourite paper, because the comics were so easy to find.

Luke looked up when Kirk dropped the rest of the paper away, noticing at once the headline on the society page. "Gilmore Ocean Wedding". He swallowed hard, taking the paper quickly from Kirk and stuffing it under his arm after a brief scan that only served to confirm his suspicions. Filling a large to-go cup with coffee, he yelled back to the kitchen, telling Caesar that he would be back soon.

Crap, crap, crap, crap, he thought as he hurried his way through town. This was not how things were suppose to go.

~G.G~

An incessant tapping against Lorelai's window annoyed her awake. She looked over in time to see a pebble bounce off the glass. She groaned, looking to her clock: it was 6:10. Whoever was out there playing the part of a love-driven youth was going to die. The roof just outside her window was littered with tiny stones, making her wonder just how many were left in her driveway.

Grumbling louder she tossed her curtain aside to see who she was going to have to get help with burying. Her eyes widened at the sight of Luke, looking around nervously. More confused than she had been before, she opened the window, "Luke? What are you doing here?"

"Keep your voice down," he hissed, looking around guiltily, "Come down and let me in."

"You know," she told him as she opened the front door, "I know I'm very missable, but if you're rethinking this whole divorce thing then I should warn you..." she stopped when he stormed past her into her house, thrusting a coffee cup and newspaper into her confused hands.

"Drink," he demanded, not moving past her foyer, "I need you awake enough to deal with this, because I'm not doing so well on my own."

"Luke, calm down. Sit and tell me what's wrong."

He let her lead him to her couch, but he didn't look ready to calm down. Once seated she looked at the paper in her hand. At the sight of the headline she blinked and took a large drink of the cooling liquid.

"What is this?" She asked, skimming the article, surprised at the pictures that, while not clear, left no doubt in her mind who the article was portraying.

"Kirk brought it into the diner," Luke explained going from panicked to irritated.

"Well lucky for us Kirk doesn't know how to read anything not a comic," she said, trying to find the bright-side of the situation, "But, also too bad the same can't be said for the rest of the town." She took another long drink. "There goes our plan of a quiet divorce with no one knowing about it. I'm sorry Luke."

He looked surprised. "Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for? It's this Reynolds guy who's going to be sorry!"

She caught his arm when he went to stand, and pulled him back down beside her, her hand remaining in his arm, "Rory is still sleeping, so please don't wake her. I don't want to have to explain to her why she's waking up to her step-father throwing a fit in the living room." She glanced back to the writing, "Man, he's good. Did you know that he was watching us? I didn't know that he was watching us.

"'It was evident from the first time you saw them,'" she quoted from the article, "'That there was something brewing between the unlikely couple. That it came to a surprise wedding attended by most of the ship's crew and occupants the final evening wasn't such a surprise to those who saw them together during the rest of the cruise. From casual to formal, from the off-ship visits to on-board activities, from the dining room to their shared estate-room!...' - oh man, Patty's going to have a field day with this - '...romance was written in the stars for the daughter of prominent business mogul Richard Gilmore and one of the social tycoons of Hartford, Emily Gilmore and her entrepreneur companion.

"'Miss Gilmore had booked under an alias, in order to hide the emerging romance from potential prying eyes. After the birth of her daughter, out of wedlock, eighteen years ago, not much has been seen of Gilmore in society. In recent years she has again emerged as a social force worthy of her family name. However, with this recent event, all will wonder how her place in society will survive a sudden marriage to a man whose name doesn't warrant a mention in the society pages of this publication.' Ouch."

"Yeah, I read that last part on the walk over here. But thanks for reading it again."

She smiled at him, and squeezed his arm in support, "So, what are we going to do?"

He sighed, leaning back against her couch, his hands nervously adjusting his baseball cap, "I don't know. It's not that anyone I know will read that paper."

"Well no one that doesn't also know me," she pointed out. "And lets face it, once one person in town reads it, it's going to spread. I give it until noon before they're breaking down our doors looking for details."

"Let them," he said finally straightening, his posture reflecting his determination, "I'm not going to tell them anything. It's not like it's any of their damned business anyway."

Lorelai shot him a glance over the paper, admiring his calm. "Try telling that to Patty and Babette."

"Dont think that I won't. Why are you smiling?"

She shrugged, eyes fixed on the article she was no longer skimming. "Blame the coffee."

"Right. Coffee." He fell silent a moment, watching her calmly drink back her coffee. "Aren't you worried about this?"

"We reap what we sow. No, I'm not happy about being the centre of gossip like this, again, but it's been done. Maybe we can pass it off as some kind of elaborate joke? As long as we don't feed the fire, I'm sure it'll die down soon enough." She studied him, wondering if either of them believed her positive spin on the growingly worse situation. For now, it seemed they were both willing to suspend their disbelief.

Luke fell silent for a moment, looking around as Lorelai looked at him. His eyes fell on the mantel piece and the row of pictures that lined it. "How did Rory take the news," he asked, more concerned about that than about having the entire town giving them a hard time.

"She was… she took it… She was surprised."

He nodded. "And does she…" he fell silent, not really knowing how to say that words that swam in his head. Did she hate him? That was one answer he knew he was potentially not ready for.

"She understands." She glanced at the clock, feeling the growing awkwardness of the moment. It was almost 6:30, "You better get back. But thanks for giving me a heads up. Um Luke, question, though," she added, leading him towards the door, "What was with the pebbles and the homage to the 80's chick flicks?"

"I didn't want to wake Rory," he admitted, as though it was obvious.

She couldn't help the grin that took over her expression, "Of course." She stood there a moment, with her door open, watching as he waited for her to say goodbye, "Uh, and thanks for the coffee. It was much needed."

"No problem. So, ignore it until it goes away? Or call it a joke or stunt?"

"Exactly."

"Okay, I can do that." He shifted his feet, "I know that we've been so caught up a lot with the whole marriage thing that we haven't really focused on the other thing."

"Which... oh! The naked thing."

"Yeah. Uh- we're okay, right?"

The elephant in the room had been let loose and now that she was reminded of it, she recalled how uncomfortable it should have made her. But if she was honest with herself, she knew that it didn't, which itself made her uneasy. There was something about sleeping with him that was easy. Natural. As though it was something she should have been doing all along. Also, knowing what he hid under all his flannel and denim, didn't help her new-found unease with that understanding.

"Yeah, we're okay."

"So, I'll see you at the diner? Later?"

"I'll be by before work. For a refill."

He smiled, relieved. With everything changing so much so quickly, he was glad that at least there was one less thing he had to worry about when it came to them. He had discovered last night how quickly he had gotten used to her. And how small his bed really was even without her there. The first thing he had done after laying down was get up, curse and order himself a larger one. This, he had realized then, was not turning out the way it was suppose to go. He had succeeded in forgetting Nicole and having fun. He just failed miserably in another important matter - he had failed to realize just how much Lorelai had gotten under his skin.

~G.G~

She cursed. The phone was ringing. It wasn't fair. Her sleep patterns were thrown off from having been on the cruise, and she had just closed her eyes and hoped that she could again return to sleep after Luke had left. Checking the clock she cursed again, it wasn't even seven yet. There was only one person alive that would call her that early, even though she had just watched him leave her door only minutes before. The way he was going, she figured, she was going to be a widow before she was a divorcee.

Without checking, she grabbed the phone off the nightstand and angrily connected the call.

"Luke! You just left here, you cannot seriously be waking me up again!"

"This isn't your husband, Lorelai," the icy voice came from the other end of the line. Emily Gilmore.

Lorelai froze, instantly awake, her mind racing. In the chaos of the last few days she had forgotten about the tornado that would erupt when her mother found out about what had happened. She just never would have thought it would have been so soon.

"Mom?"

"Don't sound so surprised. I'm the one who should sound surprised. Surprised that my daughter skipped town to get married without telling me. Sunbathing? Ha! I knew it was a lie."

"I didn't skip town to get married. The getting married just kind of happened, Mom. It was a mistake. Really. I promise you that I didn't do this to hurt you. Things have been nuts, and I just got home. I didn't mean for you to find out this way. Please believe me."

"Of course I believe you."

Lorelai froze, shocked. "You do? Just like that? Because you never..."

"I have to. Why else would my daughter go away on a cruise with a man she claims is only a friend and come home married? Obviously it must have been a fluke."

There was only one thing she could do. She just had to go with it and hope to tuck and roll when the bomb that was Emily Gilmore went off. "It was. It was the open waters and the drinking and the atmosphere. Nothing more. Luke and me, we didn't mean for this to happen."

"Well I suppose you can just get it annulled." There was silence, "Can't you?"

Damn. "Well..."

"Lorelai, you slept with him?"

"I was drunk enough to marry him, Mom, of course I was drunk enough to sleep with him too. Don't worry, we're taking care of it; we're just going to get divorced. No big deal."

"What? No big deal?"

There was something in her mother's tone that gave Lorelai pause. "You wanted us to get it annulled, but a divorce is wrong to you? Can you say old fashioned?"

"Lorelai, how do you think it makes me look? To have you jumping in and out of a marriage like it was nothing more than a pair of shoes?"

Lorelai sat up straight, "I don't know, Mom, how does it make _you_ look?"

"Don't take that tone with me. An annulment is one thing. It makes it seem more innocent, like something you entered into in the heat of the moment. Something like that is more easily forgiven. Divorce marks you for life."

"That's right Mom. Me, it marks _me_ for life."

Lorelai could almost hear the eye roll in her mother's tone. "People know you are my daughter, especially after that damned article. I've already had three people call me about it, offering their congratulations."

"Three people? At this hour? Do your friends not sleep?"

"It's gossip, Lorelai. You have made me the center of gossip. Once again. Have you no regard for my feelings?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure in a week or two someone else's daughter will ruin their lives and you will recover."

"Amy Sanderson's daughter had an affair with her pool-boy a year ago. Mimi still gets looks when bodies of water are mentioned."

"Mimi? Rich people have the strangest names, I swear."

"Stop making jokes."

"Sorry. Listen Mom, I don't know what you want me to do about this..." She looked at the to go cup that sat empty on her night stand. What she wouldn't give for a refill.

"Stay married," Emily interjected.

If she could have, Lorelai would have replayed that moment, just to make sure she had heard correctly. "You want me to stay married? To Luke? A man you still call 'the diner man'."

"Yes. The article hid the nature of his business, so for now it appears perfectly respectable."

Her tone grew tight. "It _is_ perfectly respectable, Mom."

"At least put off the divorce for a respectable amount of time."

"And how long is that?"

"A year, or two."

"Mom! You're crazy. I'm not going to ask Luke to stay married to me just to save your reputation. It's his life too."

"Are you sure that he doesn't want to stay married to you? I mean there must have been a reason for you two to get married."

"Yeah, booze. Open water. Sunstroke. It was either get married or help the hands below deck sacrifice a goat. Mom, we've been over this before: me and Luke, just friends. Besides, you don't want me married to Luke. You don't even like Luke."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She sounded disbelievingly offended.

"Really? Because when I told you that I might - might! - have had feelings for him, you asked me what I was thinking. Obviously that tells me you didn't consider him as being high in the desirable son-in-law department."

"People change, Lorelai."

"People, yes. But not you."

There was a long silence. Silence from her mother wasn't good at the best of times, but while they were fighting, it was that much worse. It meant that her mother was thinking. And when Emily paused to think it meant that she was about to fight dirty.

"How is Rory doing?"

Subject change? Never good. "She's good... why?"

"Is she excited for having graduated? And for Yale?"

Warning bells started to sound in her head. "You know she is."

"Rather expensive, post secondary education. How are you paying for that, again?"

Lorelai's heart stopped. "You wouldn't. That's dirty. And it's low, even for you. Using my kid against me like that."

"I'm protecting her."

"How? How is this protecting her?"

"She is a Gilmore! Not only are you running your name and my name into the mud with your actions, but you're doing the same to Rory's name as well. She is looking for a career in the public eye. What you do is as much under scrutiny as her own actions. And for someone who has been so adamant about keeping her life steady up until this point, how do you think you running in and out of a marriage is going to look to her?"

"About as bad as staying married for the wrong reasons!" Lorelai had always been told about the dangers of getting between a mother bear and her cub. And while she always knew that she, herself, was protective of her daughter, it wasn't until that moment that she learned that she would probably have been able to take on the bear and win.

"Calm down."

"Calm down? You are threatening me, Mother. You are threatening the future of my daughter. I am way past calming down here."

"I can't talk to you when you're like this. I just want you to think about what you're doing here. I want you to know that your actions have consequences, and not just for those around you. Think about it. We'll talk later."

With that Emily hung up and Lorelai was left fuming, and with only one person she could really go to.

~G.G~

Luke was on edge. He knew that the town was looking at him differently. He knew that they were whispering, trying to figure out if the rumors were true. It put him in a sour mood. A more sour mood than the one he had started out with.

Talking to his wife - talking to Lorelai, he corrected himself, knowing that they weren't going to stay married long enough to get used to calling her anything other than crazy and a pain in the ass - hadn't helped the situation. While glad that they had salvaged their relationship, knowing that their mistakes onboard the ship hadn't ruined their friendship, he didn't really like how quickly and easily they came to the decision to end things. Not that there was anything to really end, he reasoned. But still, he didn't like it. He also knew that his parents wouldn't have liked it either.

Jumping into relationships and marriages without looking was his sister's thing, not his. He was never certain that he would have ever gotten married, but to know, now, that he would potentially do it more than once... it didn't sit well with him. His parents probably wouldn't have liked it. And while he knew that they were long dead and buried, living his life in a way that would make them proud was something that he highly valued in life.

He was deep in thought when the bell above the door violently rang. He glanced up to see Lorelai there, hastily dressed, her eyes red with unshed tears. Rage almost radiated from her. Glancing at the clock it he saw that it wasn't even 7:30. That alone told him that something was very wrong.

"Caesar," he called, not looking away from her, "Cover up front, I'll be upstairs for a minute."

He didn't look at the other customers in the diner although he knew that this sight was going to give them more to talk about. He didn't care. In that moment the only thing that mattered was the look of pure heartbreak that was clearly painted on Lorelai's face. He knew that he was at least part of the reason it was there, and he swore as he followed her upstairs that he would do everything he could to make it go away and make everything okay.

Lorelai had done well to keep things together until the door to his apartment closed. Then she couldn't hold back. She was shaking, and hot tears were leaking from her eyes. But even then she waited for him to speak first, not able to find the words to begin to express the pandemonium in her head.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice low, hands fidgeting, not knowing what to do with them. Should he try to hug her? Or should he cross his arms? Would she know he was uncomfortable if he did?

"Emily."

He found himself propped against his table, knowing that whatever he thought could have been causing her tears paled in comparison to what was really wrong. "She knows?"

"Yeah, and all her friends are calling, rubbing her nose in the fact that I got married to a man she doesn't approve of without her knowledge."

"Oh Lorelai."

She shook her head, starting to pace, "She is evil and selfish and... and I can't think of another thing to call her. Me! That should tell you how mad I am at this, that I can't even think of a third adjective for what I think of her right now."

"She doesn't approve."

"That's putting it lightly. But does she agree with us that we should just get a divorce? No! She thinks that since we can't do an annulment that we should wait it out."

He paused, not sure if he heard right. He had long thought Lorelai was the odd one in her family. Here was proof that she might actually be the sane one. "She wants us to stay married? She doesn't even like me."

"I know! But considering our conversation, I think she now likes me even less." She sagged down on the couch, "She threatened not to give money for Rory's school," she confessed in a low tone, finally giving into her frustrated tears as he sat beside her.

He pulled her to him, at a loss for words as she broke. He knew that she would do anything for her daughter, even give up her own life. But if he understood it right, he, too, was being asked to change on the girl's behalf. He wasn't a father, in fact before he had taken in his nephew he doubted ever being able to hack it with kids of any age. And yet, he loved Rory and he knew that he wanted her to have the best in life. She was too much like her mother for him to feel and wish for anything else.

"I don't know what to do," he heard her mumble into his neck.

"I thought Rory had a scholarship," Luke began once the worst of Lorelai's tears had passed.

"A partial one. School's expensive. Mom and dad were giving her a loan to cover her books and the rest of tuition and housing and everything else while at Yale."

He nodded, understanding that part at least, "Would they really hurt Rory like that? By ruining her chances of a good education?"

"No, not Rory, the family's golden child, but I know Emily, and she's only doing this until she can think of a better, more evil plan for me. Anything to keep us together for a "respectable amount of time"."

"How long is that?"

"Until I kill her..." she paused, looking at him. She shook her head, studying the acceptance in his expression, "No, you can't be serious. You're not going to give into her, are you?" She stood, turning her anger on him, "Luke, she's trying to get her way. She's willing to risk both of our happinesses - my daughter's! - so that she doesn't look any worse in front of her DAR cronies."

"I know that."

"Then... why are you just sitting there?"

"Because you probably wouldn't want me to go yell at her for you."

She couldn't help the smile that filtered onto her lips. "You would do that?"

"It wouldn't help anything."

"No, but it's sweet. Luke, I can't ask you to stay married to me. We both agreed that it would be easier to divorce as soon as possible."

"Easier for us," he pointed out.

"You say that like other people matter in this discussion."

"Well obviously they do. Your mother seems to think she's affected and Rory is going to be affected through her. I don't want to hurt Rory."

She smiled at him, her heart warming at his sentiment to her daughter. Inhaling deeply, settling her breath, she couldn't help but wonder, for a brief moment, if staying married to him would really be that bad anyway. "Miss Patty knows."

He nodded, not surprised. Put the paper article together with his early morning arrival at her house, their sudden trip and now how she looked when she showed up at the diner and there was no way the town hadn't turned these events into a whirlwind love affair.

"I heard whispers following me through town," she continued, pulling herself straight.

"No matter what happens now, the buzzards are going to be circling."

They sat in silence a moment, "Say we don't divorce," she began, choosing her words carefully, not looking at him, "Not that's what I'm saying I want or think we should do. I'm just thinking out loud."

"Being hypothetical."

"Exactly. What would we tell the town?"

"To mind their own damn business works for me."

She nudged him with her elbow. "We can't do that. They know about the marriage. They would know about the divorce. They would know if we did or didn't get it finalized. How would we explain it if we didn't get it finalized right away? We couldn't just say that we're doing it for Rory and because my mother is blackmailing us into it. Rory would feel guilty and take it out on her grandmother. And I plan on doing that enough for the both of us.

"And then there is the tricky Emily Gilmore. She would have to show us off to her friends, at least once, to prove that we really meant it. That she wasn't unaware of it happening. She'd probably insist on an overpriced reception just to show that she still has the grace and class she feels is due her. Do you really want to deal with that?

"Not to mention our personal lives. What if we meet people? What if you want to start dating..."

"I hate dating."

"You know what I mean."

"I know."

"Are you really saying that you're ready to take on everything that comes along with staying married to a Gilmore?"

"Remember when Jess got that black eye?" He waited until Lorelai nodded before continuing, "We went on the lake and we talked about Rory. About how he wasn't just dating her. He was also dating her family and her friends and everyone in town who cared about her."

"Wise man."

"I have my moments. Lorelai, I've known you for a long time. I know what your mother is like. I know what you're like. I sometimes think I know too much for my own good. Trust me, I know what I'm getting myself into."

"Getting? That means you want to stay married?"

"Think of it as not wanting to incur the lawyer's bill just yet. I did just pay for a vacation."

Smiling, she threw her arms around Luke, holding onto him tightly, a light laugh escaping her. No matter what else happened in her life she was relieved to know that she had someone like Luke who would be there to watch her back.

"Besides," he continued, uncomfortable with being so close to her, "It may be fun, playing with Taylor a bit."

"I want you to remember you said that."

"What?"

"That it might be fun. Because in a month when my mother is practically begging you to kill her just by being herself, you'll need to remember that you went into this more or less willingly. Thank you, Luke."

"Hey, don't thank me yet. I'm sure I'm no treat to be married to either. Come on, you look like you're hungry. I'll make you breakfast and we'll work out more details tonight."

"Can I get breakfast to go? And for two? Rory is probably worried, I didn't even wake her up before leaving this morning. Although how she slept through you and the phone and the shouting matches, I'll never know."

"Did you want to wait up here? Or are you set to face the town?"

She sighed before opting to join him. Five minutes and a breather later they were both at the counter, Luke going about his routine as Lorelai took in another cup of coffee, waiting for breakfast to be finished, feeling as tired as she knew she looked.

When the phone rang she didn't bother looking up. It wasn't until she heard Luke react to whatever panicked voice was on the other end of the line that she began to pay attention.

"Calm down, Rory, it's okay. She's right here." He cast her an apologetic look before handing her the receiver.

"Where are you!" The young woman demanded, "Your alarm was going off and you weren't home and I was worried sick! You didn't have your cell phone or anything and it wasn't until Babette told me that she saw Luke come over this morning and then you leaving soon afterwards that I thought to call the diner. What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Calm down, Hon," she soothed as Luke handed her the take-out bag, "Don't worry, I'm on my way back. And I have breakfast. We'll talk then."

"She okay?" He asked, taking the phone back, worry painted on his expression.

"Yeah. She's a worrier."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I miss the age where I could tell her almost anything and she'd believe it. See you later?"

"I'll be over after work."

She smiled her thanks and started to leave, for the first time not really caring what the others sitting around the diner thought about the look of appreciation she cast towards him.

~G.G~

Rory still couldn't believe it. Not only was her mother married to Luke, but she was planning on staying married, at least for a time. When Lorelai didn't tell her immediately why, she began to get suspicious. And so she did the first thing that occurred to her. She went to Lane.

"They're married? Like, really, truly married?" Rory affirmed they were. For the fourth time. "Wow, and they're staying married?"

"That's what Mom said."

"Wow."

"Yup, a lot of wows going on."

"And she didn't tell you why?"

"No. And that's what's bothering me. I mean we tell each other everything." A thought occurred to her, her frown turning into a furrowed brow. "Well mostly everything."

"Mostly?"

"Our weak communication point has pretty much always been guys. So I guess I can see why she wouldn't want to tell me, but something seems different here. Like there's another reason she doesn't want to tell me."

"What do you think it is?"

"My first thought was Grandma," she confessed, "I know she didn't like Luke and had always hoped that Mom and Dad would get married, but this does seem like something she'd do. Meddle in it, I mean. Maybe mom wants to stay married out of spite?"

"Or maybe it's more than that."

"More how?"

"Well you know how everyone's always said that Luke has had a thing for your mom?" Rory said that she did, "What if your mom also had a thing for him?"

Rory paused to consider the possibility. "You mean, they may have had a mutual, but unspoken, thing for each other?"

"Stranger things have happened."

Considering all she knew of both parties, it didn't seem like such as stretch. "So they want to be married? Then why would she have told me last night that they were going to get a divorce?"

"Maybe she said that for you?" She paused before an idea came to her, and she was off, getting swept up in the romance of the moment. "You said that he showed up at your place early this morning. And I heard that she was real upset when she went to the diner... put two and two together, Rory! He went there to try to get her to agree to stay with him. She must have denied him and then regretted her decision and went to him, begging to be taken back."

"I don't think my mom is really the begging type."

Lane rolled her eyes. Sometimes she forgot how skeptical/realistic her best friend was. Living for so long with Mrs. Kim taught Lane the need for being an optimist. There really was no other way to survive. "You know what I mean."

"Wow. Mom and Luke. You know, it doesn't seem as strange once you think about it some. I wonder why they didn't just come out and say something?"

"Who understands grown-ups?"

"We're technically grown-ups."

"Only technically. But as I'm still under the thumb of my tyrannical mother, I still identify better as a minor."

"So what should I do? About Mom and Luke? Should I tell them that I know? Should I encourage them? Should I do nothing?"

"What do you want to do? I mean are you okay with Luke being your stepfather?"

"I don't know. I mean I'll admit a small part of me was still always hoping for my parents to get it together. But if it's not with Dad, then I'm happy that it's with Luke. So yeah, I'd like for them to make it work."

"There you go. I think you know what to do."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Rory," Lane began after they had fallen silent, a playful smile on her lips, "You have a stepfather."

For the first time since bringing up the topic with her friend a large smile overtook Rory. She had a stepfather. Someone who would be there for her no matter what happens. Someone who would take care of her mother after she left for college. Rory was happy that it was Luke. He had always fit the bill as a father-figure in her life. Most of the time more than her own father did. To have him there for good, to have him there in title as well as in job description... well it felt good. It felt like having a family.

~TBC~

Next Chapter: Word spreads through the town.


	4. Petticoat Junction got nothing on us

Thank you for all the following, favouriting and reviews. Please keep it up and let me know how I'm doing. It really makes my day.

Also... everything = not mine.

~G.G~

Part 4: Petticoat Junction got nothing on us

That day turned out to be one of the longest days of their lives. The entire day was filled with questions and jibes and 'I told you so's' and jokes that made them both tired and irritated. The worse for Luke had been Kirk. The younger man had asked him about renting his apartment since it was common knowledge that he was going to live with his wife. Since the space above the diner was going to be empty, and as Kirk no longer wanted to live with his mother, but still wanted to be near enough in case something happened, he thought it only logical that Luke rent it to him.

"Kirk, you are not renting my place."

"Why? You're not going to be there anymore."

"Who said that?"

"Everybody. You're married. Married people live together. It's one of the reasons they get married in the first place. Maybe you should have thought about this more before you got hitched."

"Kirk," he warned.

"Unless you don't think it'll last, then I can see why you wouldn't want to give up your place. I can see why you would marry for the short term too. Lorelai is a fox. And marriage leads to sex, at least that's what movies have taught me."

"Kirk, please."

"Although in this day and age people usually have sex before marriage. I congratulate you on holding off. Especially considering how fertile she is. I mean a kid at 16. Impressive."

"Kirk, I mean it. Shut up. Drop it. This conversation, it's over. Done. Finished. If you say one more thing about Lorelai I will kick you out of here and not let you in again."

Kirk managed to wait half a beat before… "Is she changing her name?"

"Get out!"

For Lorelai it was the surprise visit by Miss Patty and Babette that made her want to run for the hills. While she had been honest with Sookie about what had happened, even divulging more details than she normally would about the wedding night…

_"How was it?"_

_"Surprisingly good."_

_"Surprisingly good how? Like you're surprised you're still not naked or surprised he remembered how everything works?"_

_The brunette rolled her eyes, a dreamy smile filling her lips as she recalled the night that played out like a dream whenever she closed her eyes. "Oh, he knew how everything worked. It was like he had taken an advanced course in how everything works."_

_"Well, he has known you a long time. Some of that knowledge was bound to translate."_

_"Yeah, I suppose it was."_

...she knew that she was in over her head when the two older women descended upon her, offering their congratulations and trying to dig for more details when they stopped by for lunch at the inn.

"So, Doll, when is he moving in?" Babette asked once it became clear Lorelai wasn't going to tell them anything about the wedding or wedding night. "It'll be great to have another hunk around the neighbourhood! You finally caught him, he shouldn't have to sneak in and out of your house in the wee hours of the morning. He must be addicted to you, him cutting work like that."

"It's hardly sneaking Babette, when you saw him."

"He's not very good at it."

"We'll give him lessons." Patty reached out and grasped Lorelai's arm, "How is Rory with this?"

"Rory? Surprised, but good. Strangely supportive. She's always liked Luke."

"So she's not the reason he's left sneaking about? I know this has been sudden..."

"Yes! It was sudden. So very, very sudden. We don't want to rush into anything more than we already have. Especially with Rory living there too. So much is changing and so quickly. We're still figuring things out, you know? So until things are settled, we've decided it's best that we stay at our own places."

"You're not going to divorce are you?" Patty asked, her tone worried and her grip on Lorelai tightening.

Lorelai froze. "Wha...?"

"It would break his heart if you did. That man's been nuts about you for years. Lucky girl."

"And it's not just him. We all want this to work out," Babette confessed, "Well, not Taylor. He's having a fit about what happens when you break up, he's working on backup plans as we speak. But the rest of us, we're behind you, Doll. We figured that you two would have never gotten hitched in the first place if you didn't think it'd work out."

"Especially considering what it would do to your friendship. I couldn't stay friends with any of my ex-husbands. They knew too much."

Lorelai felt her stomach turn at the possibility of what all this could do to her friendship with the man who knew her better than anyone not related to her. It took Babette's grasping her hand to draw her attention back to the pair. "What we're trying to say is that we're happy for you. And we're all behind you."

By the time Lorelai got home, she was ready for bed. It wasn't long after she had changed into something that didn't cut off more of her airflow than just being alive did that Luke showed up, looking as worn out as she did.

"Who knew so many people cared about what we did," Luke grumbled, sitting in her living room. He had shrugged out of his jacket, even going as far as tossing his hat on her coffee table, before taking the beer she offered.

"You really had to ask that? In this town?"

Luke couldn't help but agree, "Taylor came in today, showing me a petition that he had circulating demanding we sign a contract that stated that we would end amicably and not combine our businesses. He's afraid we'll become a power couple, his words not mine. I threw it in the broiler."

"I wish I had seen that."

"Oh, and Kirk wanted to rent my apartment. He assumed that I would be living here."

"Ew, naked Kirk on your things. Babette also wondered why you hadn't moved in yet. Said she didn't think it right having you sneak in and out of here."

He looked embarrassed. "She saw me?"

"It's Babette, she sees all. She's worse than the eye of Sauron. That's Lord of the Rings, in case you're wondering."

"I know Lord of the Rings."

She stopped, surprised, "Wait, you've seen Lord of the Rings? All three movies? You? You've sat through all nine hours of orcs and elves and tiny men with hairy feet?"

"I've read the books."

She shook her head, frowning, "And just when I had hope for this marriage."

He shifted positions, pulling her back on track. "What did you tell Babette?"

"That I liked you sneaking in." She grew serious when she saw the lack of amusement reflecting in his eyes. "I told her that we were taking things slow, figuring things out. She basically threatened me not to break your heart with a divorce."

They were silent for a moment, "A lot of people are invested in this. Aren't they?"

She nodded, for the first time realizing just how many people were being lied to. And she had felt that lying to Rory had been bad enough. "Are you sure this is the right thing to do?"

"Can you afford to pay for Yale if your mother does cut her off?"

"No. Not even a little. I'm also worried about what Chris is going to say when he finds out about this," she confessed, waving her finger between them.

Luke stiffened beside her, "Think he'll take it out on Rory when he finds out that you're married?"

She shrugged, "No, I don't know. Probably not. He loves Rory. He wouldn't make her suffer. Me, however, that's a whole other matter." Sighing, she leaned back into the couch, "Remind me to think things through the next time I make a life-altering decision."

"I'll drink to that." He held out his beer for her to cheers before taking a long drink. "Have you talked to your mother yet?"

"She called briefly while I was at work. She wants you to come to dinner on Friday." She smiled when he shifted, glad that his survival instincts were intact. "I told her you were probably busy. But considering her response, I think she's planning something."

"What kind of something?"

"Do you own a tux?" She teased.

He groaned. "Why do I have a feeling that I'm now under her thumb as much as you are in this?"

"She knows you care about my kid. She's good at smelling weakness like that. And if she can use that to get what she wants from you, you better believe she will do it."

"Why did I agree to this?"

Smiling wide, she patted his arm. "Because you thought it might be fun!"

He groaned again, "This is why I hate fun."

~G.G~

For the most part the town seemed to accept the reasons they gave for living apart. It also made sense considering the many early deliveries that Luke had coming to the diner that he would keep the apartment once he did actually settle into Lorelai's home. But they were being watched. Constantly. Not that it mattered much to either of them. It only mattered that the appearances were good enough to satisfy those who lived over half an hour away.

By Wednesday no one seemed to question the goings on of the strange couple. And Lorelai actually started to enjoy the fact that she was now expected to get special treatment from the usually surly diner-man. In fact, she was now told all about what he was doing when she wasn't around and encouraged to put him in a better mood for all their sakes. And while she was trying to take it all in stride, she often wondered how he was handling the stress of it all as well as he appeared to be.

Lorelai had just finished saying goodbye to Patty at the diner after yet another comment about the improvement of his mood when Luke came up to her table she shared with Rory, his shoulders tight with tension, refilling their coffee cups during the lull in the breakfast rush.

He frowned at her. "Why are you encouraging her?"

"You try telling that woman anything she won't take as encouragement when she wants to." She shook her head, watching him leave before looking to Rory. The young woman had been quieter than normal, especially while in the presence of Luke. At first Lorelai had let it slide, not thinking too much of it. But after the third day, she was starting to get worried.

"Hey, what's going on? How are you dealing with all this?"

Rory blushed, her eyes on her plate. "What? What makes you think I'm not dealing well?"

"Well, you just about jumped out the window just now when I asked you and you haven't been your regular chatty self to Luke since I told you about the marriage."

"Do you think he noticed?" Rory asked, suddenly worried and ashamed.

"I think he's had other things on his mind. You know that you can talk to me about this, right?"

I know, it's just..."

"Weird?"

"Kind of. I mean, sudden might be a better word."

"Yeah, it's really sudden. I know. And I'm sorry about that."

"But it's okay. I mean it. I mean Luke's a really great guy and I know you two really care about each other. It's just..."

"Just?" When Rory didn't make any attempt to continue, casting a worrying glance that Luke might overhear them, Lorelai led her outside, hoping that the distance would inspire her to say what had stopped her before, "What's wrong?"

"You two just don't really spend any time together."

It was Lorelai's turn to grow uncomfortable. "Oh, that. Look Rory..."

"Is it because of me? Because I'm still in the house? Because when I came home the other day Luke did not look comfortable. I mean, he almost ran. And, I don't want that. I want you to be happy. And I don't want you to think that I'm not supportive of this. Because I am. I am totally, one hundred percent, on board."

"Oh sweetie, no. It has nothing to do with you, I promise. Luke's always been a little weird around girls."

"Mom..."

"Things are just complicated. We're figuring things out."

"I know I'm no expert on relationships, but figuring things out would probably be easier if you two actually spent time together, especially away from the town," a smile grew on Rory's face, "In fact I think tonight would be a great night for me to stay over at Lane's. That way you grown-ups can spend time together, figuring things out. For as long as you need to. Late into the night if you want to. Or early in the morning."

"Rory!" Lorelai laughed, catching the innuendo in her daughter's tone.

"What? I'm not judging. It may be good for you two. I meant the talking, not the sex. Although I'm sure that sex would probably be good too..."

Lorelai started to rub her daughter's back at the uncomfortable expression that haunted her face. "Took it too far, didn't you?"

Rory just nodded, "I think I'm ready to stop talking about this and go back inside."

Lorelai was still smiling when Rory left a few minutes later.

"What's the smile about?" Luke asked when he came over to clear the table.

"Rory wants us to have sex." She laughed when Luke dropped the plates he had been bussing. "Sorry. She's staying at Lane's tonight," she continued, following him back to the counter, "and she suggested that we spend some time together."

"Time? Together?" He didn't seem trusting of her innocent tone.

She rolled her eyes. Of course he would assume she meant something dirty. "Figuring things out. I think she really wants us to make this work. I think she likes the thought of having you as a step-father."

The warm smile that Lorelai graced him with stopped his protests short. Sighing, he gave in, "Okay, tonight. It would be nice to get away from everyone."

"Good. My place? seven?"

"Six and I'll cook."

"You got yourself a date!" She beamed at him, "I'm so lucky to have a domesticated husband."

~G.G~

"It's just not right," Babette tried to whisper to Sookie and Kirk, "They're just starting out and they haven't had a chance to celebrate yet."

"Things are complicated," Sookie tried to reason, feeling uncomfortable being included in this scheme, "I don't think they want a wedding party right now."

"All the more reason," the blonde nearly shouted before lowering her voice, "Poor kids should feel the joy of being married. They'll have years to work through the hard times. Right now they need to be reminded of the good."

"I think it's a good idea," Kirk put in, "I can spread the word. I've always wanted to be town crier."

"Just remember," Sookie added, trying to keep a low profile on things, "That Luke isn't one for large gatherings."

"Of course, Sugah, we'll keep things nice and intimate. Now what do you think about Friday?"

"They're going to her mother's on Friday. And I'm sure they'll need Saturday to recover," she added quickly, knowing that Luke's mood will have to be pretty good for him to go along with another party celebrating his fake marriage.

"Then Sunday it is," Babette crooned, "Patty will take care of the entertainment, and I'll do decorations if you take care of the cake."

"Of course I will, but why not put it off for a bit? Until they settled? We don't want to overwhelm them. And that way we aren't rushed."

"Alright, we'll push it back a couple weeks. That will give us time to get any permits from Taylor and let everybody know. We're going to have us a wedding reception like you wouldn't believe!"

'Celebrating a fake marriage,' Sookie thought, 'How could anything possibly go wrong?'

~G.G~

"Do I really have to stay over?" Luke asked after dinner that night.

Lorelai shrugged, "It's up to you, I guess. As long as you realize that Babette and probably also Patty are aware that you're over here tonight and will most likely have their eyes peeled on this place until morning. They might not even sleep. They'll take shifts watching the house for any sign of you leaving even one minute before they feel is entirely appropriate. If that happens they'll probably make you diagrams and try to talk to you about how to please your wife."

"Ah jeeze. They need to get a life," he grumbled, taking another beer.

"How are you doing, anyway?" She asked him, "With everyone talking the way they are."

He shrugged, "Hazard of small town life, I suppose. Not that I enjoy it when the talk is about me, mind you."

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, I'm the one who stuck that damn ring on your finger."

She shrugged, leaning into him on the couch, looking at her finger. "It is a really pretty ring." She liked being close to him, how easily he relaxed her, just the presence of him. "So, what do you want to do tonight?"

"I dunno… movie?"

Without a word she stood and went to the table that housed her answering machine. She took out the three movies she had selected earlier in the day from the video store, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy: extended edition. "Ready to start?"

~G.G~

It felt good to laugh and relax. They had been through so much stress since their return to dry land that they forgot what it had been like to feel the ease that they had found on the open waters. Starting the second movie and well into their second case of beer, the reminders were almost close enough to touch.

"Do you think it was a fluke?" Lorelai asked, her head falling against his shoulder. Without a second thought he wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer.

"You're talking during the movie," he reminded her, his head dipping near her ear.

"Do you really care?"

"Not one damned bit, the books were better." He grabbed the remote and paused the movie. "So what was a fluke?"

"What happened on the ship, you and me. It was pretty magical out there, do you think that's all it was?"

"I think the marriage was pretty situation specific."

"Not the marriage," she corrected, raising her head so she could meet his eyes, "The other thing."

His muscles tightened, and he could feel how warm she was against his body, "What 'other' thing?"

She leaned forward, wondering what it was about the combination of booze and Luke that made her want to be closer to him, that made her want to know him, "You know what thing I'm talking about, Luke. Would it have happened if it weren't for that cruise?"

He studied her. Her eyes, her blush, her smile, her lips. "We'll never know." He paused, weighing the odds. "But probably."

"Yeah?" She drew her body closer, her legs curling up into his lap, her arm going around his neck, his pulse thumping under her fingers.

He nodded, "You're too damned beautiful for me to never want to do this." He kissed her. And she was right there with him, responding with as much eagerness as he led with. And it wasn't long before the movie on the screen was forgotten completely, and they were making their way to her room, to her bed. And if there had ever been the chance for an annulment, it was now long gone.

~G.G~

"He spent the night," Babette whispered to Sookie and Miss Patty as they met up early the following day, to continue making plans for the surprise party they were going to throw the new couple.

Sookie blinked, "Really?"

"I left the house at seven and he was still there. No sign of either of them aside from some interesting noises over the evening. Oh, they are going to have beautiful babies!"

"Calm down," the chef urged, not sure what to think of the twist in the situation but also knowing enough that she wasn't sure what she should be feeling. She had long held certain opinions about the pair, and more than once wondered how two highly intelligent and forthright people could be so stupid and blind. "I'm sure that you're thinking way, too far ahead on this one. Let them get past the honeymoon before burdening them with parenthood."

"Although," Patty began with a sly smile, "Just think; if they had a kid soon, it could grow up with your little one."

The thought came unwillingly upon Sookie, thoughts of the possible future should Lorelai and Luke decide to remain together. And not for the first time, she was truly hoping they'd get their eyes checked.

~G.G~

"We have to stop drinking," Lorelai chided as she got ready in the morning, late for her meeting with Sookie about starting the plans for the inn. "Whenever we drink I end up in bed with you."

"Sure, blame the booze." He grumbled, pulling his shirt over his head. He had slept in, and was glad that Caesar had opened that morning. "How does that explain this morning?"

She turned to him with an almost naughty grin, "I wanted to see if it was just the booze."

He couldn't help but smile with her, "And was it?"

"Alas, it was. Good thing we found it out now, and not in twenty years, after my figure gives out and I can't find anyone better."

"Oh that's cute, you thinking that I'd put up with you for twenty years. You'd have me insane within five."

"You give me far too much credit. You're stubborn, let's call it 10, I have faith in you." She gave herself a final once over in the mirror, "Ready?"

"Yup. Let's give them more to talk about."

She was enjoying this, having people watch as she and Luke made their way to his diner. She might have even been able to get used to being expected to loop her arm through his, and stand close as they made their way through the town square.

"I kind of want to kiss you in front of Doose's, just to see if we can give Taylor an aneurysm."

He laughed, "He's usually in the shoppe this time of day," he added when he caught her frowning as they passed the market without so much as a pause.

"Even better." She could have blamed it on wanting to bother Taylor, or on the hangover that tickled her brain, or even the afterglow that still dulled the tiredness of her muscles, but honestly she just wanted to know what it was like to kiss him in front of those who knew them. And she wanted to kiss him. Kissing him was easy. Addictive almost. And curiosity got the better of her - would he kiss her back?

She slowed as she neared the ice cream shoppe, pulling him to a stop with her. She didn't look up at him, she couldn't. Not if he was going to turn her away. Not if he was going to draw the line between reality and the lie that her mother had forced upon them.

"Lorelai..." there was concern in his voice when he turned to face her. And he knew. And against everything that was in him shouting to stop this, to save himself from the pain he would feel when the divorce finally came through, he met her halfway. He kissed her back and egged her on, holding her close to him in a way that made him wonder if it was the kiss or his embrace that was responsible for her not being able to find her breath once they pulled away.

When they stepped back, faces flushed and breathing harsh and limbs trembling, the spell was broken and they knew everyone was watching them. Just as they knew that whatever was happening between them - whatever game they felt the other was playing - was quickly getting out of hand.

"I have to go," he mumbled, looking at the side walk as he pointed to the diner, where the windows were crowded with onlookers gawking at the pair.

"Uh- yeah, right. Me- me too. I'll call you with details about tomorrow." She quickly moved through the square once more, off towards Sookie's, her mind spinning with the events of the day. She didn't look up, she didn't veer off her course until she stood on the chef's porch, seeing Sookie waiting for her, her portable phone in her hand and a frown clearly on her face. "Sookie..."

The redhead nodded, "I know, I heard all about it."

~G.G~

Luke tried not to care when he went into the diner. He tried to appear like what had just happened wasn't odd or different or a really big deal. And he figured, judging by the eyes that were still following him, he wasn't doing a very good job at playing pretend.

"Hey boss, there's someone waiting for you upstairs," Caesar called. He was uneasy. Had Luke been more aware of what was going on, he would have noticed. He would have asked questions instead of nodding dumbly and climbing the stairs.

It was only as he opened the door and smelt the familiar perfume that he realized that there should have been warning bells. There, sitting on the windowsill, looking down at the street where he and Lorelai had just been, was Nicole.

They stared at one another. "I'm sorry," she started, swallowing the discomfort that made her shake, "I called you last night but you didn't answer. So I came here... I now understand why Caesar didn't want to talk to me." She moved to the couch where she had thrown her coat. There were tears in her eyes, another thing to make him feel uncomfortable with everything that was going on.

"What are you doing here?" He finally found his voice enough to ask, arms crossed, keeping the table between them.

"I missed you. I wanted to talk to you, to see if there was any chance that... that I had been wrong about you. And her. But I wasn't. Caesar told me that you took her with you on the cruise. I knew that you had cared about her. But I didn't think that this would happen so quickly after we..."

"Nicole, it's not what it looks like," he tried to assure her, stepping closer as he watched the first of her tears fall. "That wasn't why I took her with me."

"I want to believe you. So what happened, then? What happened to finally open your eyes?"

"We got married."

When she was a kid, Nicole had been hit by a soccer ball in the stomach so hard that she was afraid that she'd never be able to breath again. Hearing Luke's words now, twenty years later, produced the same effect.

"I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, her expression somewhere between sadness and anger and love and heartache, "Sorry?" Nodding, she stalked past him, out the door and out of his life. There had been no real goodbye. Not that they needed one. Sometimes goodbyes were in the silences, between the words and within the space that lived between two people drifting apart.

Alone in his apartment, his lips wearing the reminder of one woman while his nose the other, he sagged into his couch, feeling more lost than he had since waking up with a ring on his finger.

~TBC~

Up next: Dinner a la Gilmore


	5. It's My Party

So much happening, so much coming together and falling apart. I have this story written, completely. And thanks to the reviews that are coming in, I'm able to realize where I'm missing beats or scenes. So thank you, for allowing me to make it better as I go. Also, I'm loving seeing where you guys are thinking it's going. So please, keep it up.

Part 5: It's My Party...

"What's going on?" Sookie demanded of her friend as soon as they were seated at the table, "I thought this was a fake marriage. I thought this was for Rory!"

"It is. It was. I don't know Sookie, I don't know what's happening."

Lorelai couldn't recall having ever seen her friend look so disappointed in her. "You spent the night with him, Lorelai. And you kissed him for the entire town to see! This isn't a game. You can't just play with him! He cares about you and Rory and here you are playing with his emotions. This isn't you. And what about Rory? She's going to hear about what happened today. She's going to think that this is going to stick. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know!" Lorelai shouted, feeling trapped by her best friend's arguments that sounded a lot like her own. "And I know. I don't want to get Rory's hopes up. And I don't want to make him think I want something that I don't know if I actually want. This is my mother's fault."

"Not entirely."

"Hey, you're suppose to be on my side here!"

"I am. I'm just worried about you, and Luke and Rory. And the town. Your mother might have kept you in this situation but you got here on your own and you're getting deeper all on your own here too. Talk to me, what's going on?"

"I don't know. Something happened out there, on that ship. Something that I don't know if it's real or if I'm just trying to make real. I mean it's Luke. He's the last person I want to hurt or lose. And I don't know if I'm just lonely and he's here or if he's here and I'm no longer lonely." She sighed, "What am I going to do?"

"You'll figure it out. And probably quicker than you'd think. Just, don't forget that you're not alone here. Don't shut him out and try to deal with this on your own. Because no matter what you might be going through, I'm sure he's going through the exact same thing."

"Worse," she corrected, putting her head in her hands, "He has to deal with my mother."

There was a loud, almost panicked, knocking on the door. Not waiting for someone to answer, Babette rushed in, winded and looking around, wild-eyed, for Lorelai.

"There you are Sweetheart, you have to go."

They were helping her to sit, worried about what was coming over the older woman, "Babette, what's going on? What's wrong?"

"That lawyer chick that Luke was seeing..."

"Nicole?" Lorelai prompted when Babette paused for breath, "What about her?"

"Patty and me just saw her coming out of the diner. Poor thing looked like she had been crying. Luke took off right after, looking horrible. Got into his truck and drove off without a second thought. I've never seen him looking like this."

"Where would he go?" Lorelai asked, fueled by the knowledge of the history between the pair mixed within her own emotions and Babette's panic.

"His fishing spot from the looks of it. Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah."

"Take my car," Sookie offered, tossing the brunette her keys, "I'll stay with Babette."

"You think I should go after him?" Uncertainty filled her. Would he rather be alone than see her. What if had wanted to get back together with Nicole? She had ruined that for him. If their places were reversed, Lorelai knew she wouldn't want to see the cause of that.

"Only one way to find out."

~G.G~

He was sitting on the bridge over the lake, feet dangling mere inches over the water line. He was lost in his thoughts, unsure how long he was in the same position, staring at his reflection in the cold water. Even through the haze that surrounded his thoughts, he heard her.

Sighing, he looked up at her and waited.

She shifted her position, hugging herself tightly, not sure what to do. But he was looking at her. She wished that he would do something, say something. But she came to him. It was up to her to break the silence.

"Hey."

"Hey," he looked back to the water and she cursed. Was it an invitation to join him? Was it his way of telling her that he wasn't up for company? How could she still not know him after all this time? How could she not read him as well as she knew he could read her? It was true that she hadn't really seen him like this. Luke was a lot of things, but hidden with what he was feeling wasn't one of them. Even when he tried to hide it, his emotions leaked through the cracks, bleeding out into his mood, into his interactions with other people. Usually Lorelai knew how to deal with him. She would egg him on until he could vent whatever was bothering him or pissing him off. She understood that. Their sparring matches was as much good for her as she knew it was for him, it was a dance that they knew all the steps of.

But this wasn't the same thing. She hadn't seen him this closed off, this dark. She knew that she could still push his buttons, egg him on until he reacted. But something within her, something that understood the expression that lived in his eyes, told her that she wouldn't like what would happen then.

"I heard about what happened," she started, not daring to move closer. Instead she pushed her hair behind her ears and focused on him like she would a cornered animal, trying to see any indication that he might strike or flee. "And I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

His jaw clenched, but his gaze remained fixed. She took a tentative step closer.

"But I don't know. I've never really seen you like this. I didn't know if you wanted to talk or sit or yell or walk... or if you wanted to be alone. I know that you like time to process things, and I get it. I do. But I also know how it can be, when you're stuck inside your own head when it's really not healthy to be stuck there. And I don't want to worry that you're going to do something rash or stupid. And I know that you're you but you did buy a building just to piss Taylor off and you pushed Jess in a lake, not that I blame you for it."

She took a deep breath when he didn't react. Again, she wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. "I can go if you want. And I'll stay away if you need that time. I just need for you to tell me, Luke, that that's what you want. If it's not, then I can stay and say I'll stay quiet although we both know that that is one promise I'm really not good at keeping. Or I can stay and talk if you want. Either about what happened or about other things. I'm good at distraction.

"Luke..."

He straightened, weighing his options. He looked at her again, watched the concern in her expression, the guilt about the possible pain that she thought she had caused him. Sighing, he stood and walked to her. He put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing the skin lightly down to her elbow and back up as he studied her eyes. Allowing a faint smile to cross his lips, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Suit and tie?" She nodded, not breathing for fear of making him stop talking, "I'll meet you at your house. 6?"

"Whenever, yes. If you need me..."

He nodded, squeezed her arm and then turned and walked away.

It was July, and it was late into the morning. But when he walked away from her she felt nothing but cold. She felt like she was walking away from where she was supposed to be.

~G.G~

Lorelai took a deep breath before picking up her phone.

She had maintained radio silence with her mother as much as possible since the ultimatum was given, since the threat was made. But, even though their interactions were scarce, it was enough to know that Emily was planning something. And considering how far she had pushed Luke already, she knew she owed it to him to make tomorrow night as painless as possible on him.

"Hello Lorelai," Emily answered, her voice tired and untrusting.

"Emily."

"Calling to give me the news about your divorce?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "We haven't filed yet."

"Good, then you're still coming to the party." There was a beat, "He does own something not flannel, I hope."

Oh yes, there was the word that Lorelai had been dreading: party. She should have known. "Mom," she began, her eyes squeezed tightly together, her head pounding in anticipation of the conversation ahead of her, "Please don't do this."

"Do what?"

"You know what."

"I assume you're telling me not to throw you a simple party."

"There is no such thing as a simple party when you're the one throwing it."

"Really, Lorelai, it is only a small gathering of some of your father and my friends who want to come together to celebrate the marriage of my daughter. It's nothing grand since I only had a week to throw it together. It is what's expected."

"Luke isn't the party type."

"I don't care what type he is Lorelai. He is now a part - be it a temporary part - of this family. He has to do his duty, just the rest of us, to this family until such a time we can be rid of one another. That duty is tomorrow night. Now, make sure you do _your_ duty in making sure he's appropriately dressed."

~G.G~

When Rory came home, it was to find her mother on the couch, re-watching The Two Towers. There was a tub of ice cream mostly gone on the coffee table and a pack of cookies forgotten beside it. After everything Rory had heard - the kiss, Nicole, Luke storming off, the fight with her grandmother - there was a lot of things that she had been expecting to come home to. Moping mom was not on the list.

"Mom?"

Lorelai looked up and reached out to her daughter, needing a hug from the younger woman. They were silent for a long moment, together on the couch, the movie playing as their soundtrack in the background.

"Mom, are you okay?"

Lorelai sat back and looked at the blossoming woman before her, "There is something I have to tell you." She had thought about this a lot since leaving the lake and her conversation with her mother. She thought about the past, all the fights that had sprung up between the pair, and the distance that had grown between the best friends. She could see a future, if the growing trend didn't change, where she was to her daughter what her mother was to her. That thought made her as sick and depressed as her situation with Luke. And, considering the thoughts of the future she could also have with Luke that flicked through her mind almost unwillingly, she knew that there was only one thing she could do. She had to tell Rory the truth.

"Now, before I do, I need you to understand that I'm not telling you this so that you hate your grandmother. But because I don't want to lie to you. I've lied to you too much about this already. And I'm sorry."

"Mom? What's going on? Why would I hate grandma?"

"She read the article in the society column. She knows about me and Luke and so do her friends."

"So?"

"She's worried that by divorcing Luke quickly I'll be tarnishing the family name more than I already have by marrying him in the first place."

"That doesn't make sense."

Lorelai smiled. There were times when Rory still proved herself to be far too innocent for the demons of Emily Gilmore. "In her world it does, Kid. I don't understand it any more than you do. I don't want to understand it any more than I already do. But this, to her, is a really big deal."

Rory stood, "What is she doing?" She demanded, knowing that whatever her mother was saying was going to get a lot worse, "How is she getting you to stay married? How is she getting Luke to stay married?" There was a beat of silence as she figured it out. "It's me isn't it? I'm not being vain here, but I know she's using me to make you do what she wants! How?"

"Rory…"

"Tell me!"

"Yale."

Rory sank down into the chair, not believing her grandmother could have really been able to sink to the level she just had, "What?"

"It's an empty threat," Lorelai assured her, "She'd never do anything to hurt you or your brilliant future. We both know that."

"But then..."

"It was the easiest leverage she had readily available at the time. Tomorrow night I expect her to have something else up her sleeve. Did you know that she's throwing a party for Luke and me? Because I didn't until I talked to her today. I just didn't want you going in there blind. And I also didn't want you to get your hopes up about me and Luke. He loves you, and he would do anything for you. Even put up with me and my mother."

That woke Rory out of the stunned silence she had settled into. "No, that's not the only reason he's doing this. I mean you guys had sex last night."

"How did you..."

"Babette. It's all over town," Rory explained with a shake of her head. She sat in silence for a long moment taking in what she had heard, "How could Grandma do this?"

"She has her pride. Tons of pride. And I risked that. Again. It's nothing more. She wanted to ship me off, when she found out I wouldn't marry Christopher, did you know that? It was Dad who made her keep me around, despite the humiliation that came from the situation. Even still she didn't tell anyone I was pregnant until the last possible moment.

"And like it or not, she's currently controlling the purse-strings to your education. She knows that and knows that I would do anything for you. It was an easy ace up her sleeve. I'd be impressed if I wasn't so angry about it."

"How's Luke taking it?"

Lorelai stiffened. She had tried to call him, to let him know what to expect at the Gilmore house. He hadn't answered. Instead she had left three rambling messages to him. By the third time, even his answering machine sounded annoyed. "Luke... has had a long couple of days. He's processing, says he'll see us tomorrow, even if he does have to wear a suit."

"You don't think he's going to change his mind, do you? I also heard about Nicole showing up."

"The only thing you should worry about when it comes to Luke is the fact that he's likely to try and kill my mother tomorrow at the party. But if he did then you'd be that much closer to inheriting all your grandparent's money and we wouldn't have to worry about this issue at all." She thought a moment, a smile finding its way over the frown she swore she'd wear all evening. "You know I was going to suggest you helping me keep my mother and Luke away from each other, but I'm thinking I like my new plan a little better. Oh, I know. We could lock them in the kitchen together. Give Luke an edge." She reached over and pulled Rory from the chair to the couch beside her. "Look, don't worry about Luke or me or your grandmother. I want to know how you feel. Are you okay?"

"No, because I _am_ worried about all this, and I can't believe you expect me to not be!" Rory stormed off towards her room, slamming the door behind her.

Lorelai knew that all she needed was time to process what was happening and how she should best deal with the situation. "And that, Kiddo, is why I didn't wait until tomorrow... Man, tomorrow is going to suck." She cast her gaze to the television screen where Sam was standing, feeling helpless, stuck between Golum, a ring-obsessed Frodo and the journey still ahead, all under the eye of Sauron itself. "Trade you."

~G.G~

Luke didn't speak when he arrived at Lorelai's house the next evening, dressed up in a monkey suit, the one that Lorelai helped him pick out on the cruise. She recalled the way the light blue pin stripes on the black material brought out the blue in his eyes. Before then she hadn't really paid them any more attention than absolutely required from moment to moment, but when she saw him wear it, paired with a black shirt and light blue tie, she knew she would never forget those eyes again. She smiled at him, wondering if the fluttering in her stomach was caused only by the evening before them, the uncertainty that still lingered from the day before or if she would feel the same had he shown up to take her somewhere else as well.

He had spent the remainder of Thursday and most of Friday alone. Thinking over the situation, wondering how things had spiraled out of control so quickly. He knew he couldn't blame Nicole for her reaction to him and Lorelai. After he had spent so long telling her that she was crazy for thinking that there was something between the long time friends, here he was, only weeks after they were separated, married to the woman who had been the biggest divide in their relationship. But was he so wrong to have denied the possibility of this as long and as fiercely as he had? It was true that in the back of his mind Lorelai was always there. She was a draw to him, a pull, a constant beacon in his life. And there were moments, so many precious moments that he had tucked away, where he swore that she felt the same, that there was a spark that separated them from all the other people in both their lives.

Being married to her, he came to fully realize, was not the best thing he could have done. For while he had been aware of the power she had over him before, now that he knew what she was capable of, what they were capable of together, he knew that he had only ever experienced the tip of the iceberg that was Lorelai Gilmore. Now he was drowning in her. And damn him, he wanted more. Even as it was killing him - the lies, the party, the playing, the displays, the sex - he wanted more, wanted to have all of her that he could before she got what she wanted from her mother: her freedom. Luke wasn't as concerned as he should have been with Emily's rule hovering over him, of being paraded out to people he knew would look down upon him, whispering their sympathy and opinions of her bravery to the elder Gilmore for having to welcome such a man as him into her family. He was already a slave to her daughter, and he would continue to play along to make her happy, his own emotions and pride be damned.

And that was what scared him the most. It had dawned on him as he nervously dressed for the torture that was this coming evening. It wasn't that Nicole had been right. It wasn't that he had been wrong. It wasn't even that what he was doing was for all the wrong reasons. It was that he wanted it to be right. And even though he knew that when it ended he would be broken, he would continue on. Because hope was the only thing he had left.

"My car?" Lorelai asked, clearing her throat along with her own thoughts, not sure if she should broach any of the subjects she wanted to discuss. She was nervous and uncomfortable, feelings that she found strange when being in the presence of Luke Danes.

He nodded, "Yeah, sure. Is Rory coming with us?" He added when she stepped out to join him on the porch.

"Ah Rory, no, she's most definitely not coming with us. She needs time and space. She will be meeting us there. I told her the truth last night. I didn't want to lie to her."

"How did she take it?" He asked, concern filling his tone as he followed her to the jeep.

"Better than I did. She's a worrier, that kid of mine. I don't want her to have to worry about this. She's too young to have to worry about her grandmother's evil plans and her mother having sex with her step-father."

He fumbled with his seatbelt. "What? How did she... Babette? Ah jeeze. I'm going to kill her."

"I'll add her to the list." She paused, waiting until they were passing the diner before starting again, "How are you doing? About everything? About tonight and my mother and this marriage thing and Nicole..."

He inhaled deeply, nodding vacantly, "Don't worry about how I'm doing."

"Can't. See, I have to know how closely I have to watch your alcohol consumption tonight. There's going to be a lot of rich people, and I know how much you hate rich people. My mother is also going to be there, and I figure she's ranking above even Babette on your kill-o-meter. Tonight isn't going to be fun, for any of us. Least of all you. And don't think I'm not aware of how much I'm going to owe you after this. I mean I know I already owe you more than I'll ever be able to pay back, but now, just for this evening, a king's ransom! That is how much I owe you. I would offer you my first born, but she's kind of old and I'm somewhat attached."

"Lorelai-"

She smiled. His tone had relaxed and she could see the tension release from his shoulders. Sometimes she had to wonder at the power her babbling had on him. "You'll be okay?"

"Just don't leave me alone with any of these people."

"You have yourself a deal! And I expect rescues in return. Oh!" She added almost as an afterthought, "So I think I might have a perfect revenge plan for my mother."

"I'm interested, go on."

"Mom is going through all this to save her reputation. But, I know she probably has my father secretly drawing up divorce papers for the earliest possible moment for us to sign. So, I was thinking if tonight we played loving couple, she might think her plan is backfiring and have a Gilmore-class freak out. That will encourage her to let us get on with our lives and honestly, there is very little in life I enjoy as much as seeing my mother have an aneurysm."

"You want to play happy couple?" He asked dubious.

"I was thinking it could be a game." Her eyes sparkled as she explained, "Every time you feel like punching someone, put your arm around me. Every time you feel like ranting you kiss me. Every time I visualize my mother dying I will stare longingly into your eyes. And every time I want to choke her I will pinch your butt."

"Please don't pinch my butt."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine. I will stick to caressing your crotch."

"I don't want you anywhere near my crotch when you're thinking of choking," he said, knowing that it was the wrong thing to say even before he had finished saying it.

She laughed, "Dirty."

~G.G~

"You're late!" Emily chastised as soon as they entered the foyer. The party was in full swing around them.

"Well mom, you know us newlyweds, had to stop for a quickly on the 85."

"Really Lorelai," she groaned, taking her daughter's coat, "Hello Luke. Where's Rory?"

"On her way. Wow, there's a lot of people here.'

"All to see you," she said, urging them forward.

"Just a second, Mom," Lorelai said before turning her attention to Luke. In slow, deliberate movements she adjusted his tie, and smoothed down his collar, allowing her hands to rest against his chest as she met his eye, "Remember what I said."

A half-smile broke over his lips, "Rescue for rescue," he winked, taking her hand, bringing her palm to his lips. "You're looking well Mrs Gilmore."

~G.G~

Luke had never been good at parties. He never understood them. He always felt lost and uncomfortable at them. He knew that had he been with someone else, this one most likely would have been ten times worse. The room was filled with friends of Richard and Emily, business associates and other members of the social elite, all of whom had no understanding or want of understanding for the life that Luke lived, that he enjoyed living. But with Lorelai there he could stop thinking of it as party, and start thinking of it as a game. Games were something he understood.

Rory was on grandparent duty, being shown off and distracting the hosts as much as possible as Luke and Lorelai tag teamed the guests. Whenever one of them was alone more than a couple of minutes the other would approach with a hand around her waist or up his arm over his shoulder, brushing his hair. The contact grounded them, reassured them, told them that they weren't there alone. They were a part of a team. And for someone who had lived most of his life solo, Luke was quickly learning the benefits of the Gilmore team.

"You're lucky," Lorelai's cousin, Marilyn, complimented as Luke left to get them a refill, "You caught yourself a handsome one there."

"You think?" Lorelai asked, her eyes following her husband as he crossed the room. She had long thought that he was attractive in many ways that she, herself, found appealing, but it surprised her to hear that someone who had grown up in the world that she had always rebelled against sharing the same opinion. She guessed that certain things were universal.

"Rugged, and a little rough, but that's vogue now. Tell me, is he handy? I always wanted a man around who was good with his hands."

Lorelai couldn't help the blush that filled her cheeks as she watched Luke get ambushed by her parents, one of Richard's business associates and his wife, thinking how appropriate the response 'dirty' would have been to that statement, "Yes, he's very good with his hands. Sinfully so. Excuse me, please."

"Franchising is a really excellent step in the restaurant business these days..." Richard was telling the group when Lorelai came upon them. Luke was shifting, and she knew that he was uncomfortable. Not fighting the content smile on her lips, she ran her left hand up his arm, circling around his shoulder, marveling at the sight of her ring catching the expensive lights.

He cast her a thankful look, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to him snugly. Her smile widened and she wondered if that was a sign that there was someone nearby that he was thinking of hitting. "Miss me?"

Luke leaned forward, "Thank you," he whispered before kissing her temple.

"Dad, are you trying to talk business tonight?" Lorelai playfully warned, "Because Luke was being a very good husband and getting me another drink. I'm sure you'll have many more chances in the future to talk to him about what you'd like to see him do with his business."

Richard cast a look to his wife when Lorelai leaned forward and kissed Luke, laughing as she wiped the lipstick from the corner of his mouth.

"Excuse us," Lorelai said with a wink, leading Luke away from her parents. She was going to bring them towards the bar when she paused, getting an almost wicked idea. Tightening her grip on Luke's hand, she turned direction, and, well aware that Emily was watching, snuck away from the party.

~G.G~

"Rory," Cousin Marilyn called, pulling the teenager from her conversation with an elderly gentleman she remembered meeting briefly when her grandfather had taken her golfing, "There you are!"

"Hello, how are you?"

"I'm fine dear. I was just coming to check on you."

Rory could only shrug, her eyes searching the crowd for her grandmother. "I'm fine."

"I must say, you're taking all this better than I did when I was a girl."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after my mother died, my father remarried someone who, I admit, wasn't nearly as sophisticated as she should have been for marrying a Gilmore."

Rory ignored the barb. Even if she didn't know what Luke was doing for her, she didn't like him being called anything that most of the crowd wanted to call him. That was the difference between her worlds, she knew: the measure of worth. While her grandparents measured it by what they had, Stars Hollow measured it by what they gave. And in that way, she knew, that the diner-owner was worth more than anyone else in the room. "My situation isn't quite the same as yours."

"Oh, I know. Your father is still alive."

She could only shrug, "Alive yes, but he was never really around. In fact, Luke's been there for me long before his getting involved with my mother." A small smile graced her lips as she thought about the truth of that statement. Luke had gone to her graduation, and warned off the boy who broke her heart, and protected her from even his own family. Luke had made her favourite foods when she was sick, built her bookshelves without having been asked and even attended the funeral of a caterpillar. All for her. All because she needed him to. All things that her own father hadn't done.

As a girl, she had wished more than once for her father to be more like Luke. Dependable, strong, stable, there. Now, she reasoned, she didn't have to. All these years spent missing her father, she knew, was wrong. "I'm lucky," she admitted, "Having him around."

~G.G~

"Where are we going?" Luke whispered as he followed his wife up the stairs, looking around, afraid of being caught.

Lorelai giggled when she stopped in front of a door, a sign to both of them that she had had a little too much to drink. "Now, I need you to promise me that you are not going to laugh at what you are about to see." Not waiting for an answer, she opened the door and led him into her old bedroom.

"Whoa."

"I didn't decorate it. And I was also sixteen at the time. And it was also the 80's."

"This is your room?"

She sat on her bed, "Yup."

"It doesn't look like you." He said as he moved around the space, hands in his pockets, feeling as uncomfortable as he used to feel back when he was a teenager sneaking into girls rooms.

"I've grown up a lot since then. But, I think it looks a lot better with a boy in it."

He paused, turning to look at her, propped up on her bed, watching him. "Have many boys up here?"

"Only the one, and you've met the outcome of that. So maybe we should take that as warning for no hanky panky."

He sat beside her and she saw the tension draining out of him. "Does anyone actually say hanky panky anymore?"

"No one young enough to enjoy what it means. I just wanted to tell you that I think you're doing great tonight. You almost fit in here."

"Only almost, and only when I don't say anything. Have you talked to your mother?"

"No more than I've had to. I've actually been enjoying myself enough to not want to start that war tonight even though I can feel it coming. But, on the bright side, rich people feel obliged to give gifts on these occasions. My purse is currently filled with enough cheques to cover the cost of divorce lawyers for this and my next failed marriage."

He wrapped his arm around her, his hand rubbing her back gently. It felt so easy to do now, touching her like that, reassuring them both through the contact. She leaned into him, soaking up the warmth and comfort that he provided, probably without even being aware. But that, she figured, was what made him Luke. It was what he was willing to do and give to those he cared about without even thinking of wanting something in return.

"I don't think you have any more failed marriages in your future," he assured her, his tone low and gentle and perhaps a little sadder than he would have liked. But the thought of her being in another marriage was hard for him to take. At least in that moment while she still wore his ring.

Inhaling a steadying breath she met his eye, knowing that she wasn't ready for what she might possibly see there. Smiling, still feeling nervous, as nervous as she did that first night together on dry land, she leaned forward and risked seeking a kiss. A kiss that wasn't fueled by booze or the ocean or impulse or revenge. A kiss that was soft and reassuring and questioning and pure and feeling of home. A kiss that she knew could only come from Luke.

And he didn't disappoint her. He never had, she reasoned as the kiss deepened and she was following him back against her mattress. There was nothing rushed, no lust fueling their lips, there was nothing akin to the heat of their arguments that had transfer into their lovemaking. Here they were on the same page, in the same moment, feeling for the first time since being married, a bit of the magic that had led them together in the first place.

"Mom?" Rory asked, coming into the room, watching with an embarrassed blush as her mother and Luke guiltily pulled away from each other. "You disappeared. Grandma wanted me to make sure you hadn't snuck out the window."

"Well," she allowed, "Experience has proved that I might have."

"The guests are starting to leave," the 18 year old continued, shifting feet awkwardly.

"We're coming. What's wrong?"

Rory's blush deepened, "I think Grandma thought you two might have been coming up here to do more than just sneak out of the house. She told me to hurry and to make sure I knocked."

Lorelai cast Luke an embarrassed, but also triumphant, smile, "Oh Sweetie, I'm sorry that your Grandma made you think of your mother having sex. I'll give you a stiff drink of whiskey before we go home to wipe that image from your mind."

"Can you make it vodka? I don't really like whiskey."

"Anything for my little booze-hound. Come on, let's go say goodnight to the guests."

~G.G~

Emily had kept a watchful eye on the newlywed couple as she tended to the guests at her party. There was a weariness mixed unease in Rory's behaviour that made her wonder if Lorelai had told her the reasons behind the marriage lasting longer than that of most Hollywood unions. And while her expectations for the pair hadn't been set overly high, she had been impressed at how they had conducted themselves.

Luke had cleaned up well, so much so that she had hardly recognized him in the suit that brought out the handsome features of his face and complimented his athletic build. That he and her daughter played well off of one another, going from group to group, guest to guest, with an ease and grace that Emily had never seen in Lorelai, was surprising. She didn't think that the brunette knew how to talk to people she didn't know well without saying something that could be taken the wrong way or contained a tasteless joke. But Luke allowed her to be the centre of attention and gave her the comfort necessary to make a good impression while taking him out of the spotlight where Emily figured he never liked to be.

That they seemed to be enjoying their game, both delighting in the contact that posing as a young, loving couple offered, was unsettling. And for the first time she saw the danger in her plan. She also saw how Rory was also watching them, smiling shyly to herself at seeing them interacting so well.

As soon as the last of the guests left, Emily turned to her granddaughter, "Rory, why don't you give Luke a tour of the house. I'm sure he'd like to see more than just your mother's bedroom. Lorelai, come with me."

Luke went to protest, wanting to be there when Emily dropped the other shoe. Lorelai merely shook her head, knowing that if he went along there would be more damage done than the normal casualties of the warring generations.

"Don't worry Luke," Rory assured him, leading the way, "You can usually hear them across the house anyway."

Inhaling deeply, smiling at the last reassuring look that Luke threw her way, Lorelai followed her mother into the kitchen. She waited in silence as Emily sent the catering staff out to help clean up, readying herself for the battle that would begin when they were left alone.

"What are you thinking?" Emily began quickly, all the frustration she was feeling being able to finally be vented, "Acting like that in front of all those people?"

"Acting like what, Mom? A woman who didn't just get married by mistake? I thought that's what you wanted!"

"Please, you two were practically pawing each other. I know he's only one step above a barbarian, but you! You should have known better."

"Really? Because I can think of more than one party that I behaved worse at. I don't know what your problem is! You're getting what you want!"

"Hardly, Lorelai. Stop being so selfish. You never think of anyone else. You go and get married to this man who we would never be able to acknowledge outside of the occasional holiday gathering, a man we wouldn't be able to have a relationship with, with no regard to my feelings or your father's or Rory's feelings or Christopher's..."

"Christopher? How... how can you think that he has a say in what I do?"

She stomped her foot. Her daughter surely couldn't have been that dense. "You were suppose to marry Christopher! You know this!"

"But I didn't! He married Sherry."

"So you're punishing him?"

Lorelai's fists clenched. Surely, her mother couldn't be that clueless. "No Mom, I'm not. Me and Luke - what's happening between me and Luke - has nothing to do with Christopher. Me and Chris... we would never have worked!"

"But Rory..."

"Stop it Mom! You wanted me to stay married to Luke. You threatened me to stay married to Luke! And now that I am, now that I seem okay staying married to Luke, you think I'm betraying something with Christopher that never happened. That I'm hurting Rory's chances at having a father!"

"Christopher is her father."

"I know that Mom! But I gotta tell you that it takes more than a marriage proposal, a few phone calls and a broken condom to make a dad. And Luke has been a better father to Rory than Christopher ever has been.

"He's been there for her during the chickenpox and the flu, he's built her book cases and fixed her bike, he worries when she's with boys and he's proud of her achievements. He was at her graduation, Mom, Luke not Chris. He protects her. He cares about her. Not as a friend of her mother's or even her friend. It's more than that. He's made sacrifices for her, ones I know hurt him. And if anything ever happened to me, I know that she'll be okay as long as she has him in her life. That is what a father is suppose to do, Mom. That is what Chris has never been good at doing."

Emily was silent, uncomfortable with the outburst she just heard from her daughter and the passion and conviction in her tone as she said it. "That is no reason to stay with him," she continued, her voice lower and strained.

Breathing deeply, Lorelai tried to calm herself, "You're the reason I'm staying with him, Mom. Because you threatened my daughter. Now, I'm only here to find out what you're going to threaten us with next."

"Don't be so dramatic. I didn't threaten you, Lorelai."

"Really? And what would you call it? Self-preservation? Because right now you're looking a lot like those animals who eat their own young to keep themselves alive. So let's have it. Let's hear the next hoop you want me to jump through to protect your reputation."

"You're hardly being fair. Besides, there are no more hoops, as you called them. You're free."

Lorelai was taken aback. She paused, blinked, and tried to run through her mind all the different ways that she could be walking into a trap. "I'm going to regret this," she mumbled, deciding to jump right into the lion's den, "Free?"

"Yes, all I wanted was this party, a chance for everyone to celebrate and for me to wipe the egg off of my face. You are free now to go and separate and go through the proper channels to divorcing one another."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. Lorelai, don't you believe me?"

"Based upon our previous history, I don't think I should."

"I've done my duty, and I've shown my support of this crack union. Now what you make of it really isn't on my hands. From what I understand of divorce proceedings however, I hear they can take several months to complete, especially when there are family assets in the picture."

Lorelai nodded, now understanding. She was going to drag out the divorce as long as possible with all the family money and red tape she could find, all while safely tucked away from the prying eyes of her society friends. She had to hand it to her mother, Emily was good.

"So that's it? No more threats to Rory?"

Emily smirked, "Do you really think I would deprive my grandaughter of her future, of the future you should have had, just so you can stay with the diner man? Tell me Lorelai, do you really think that little of me or are you grabbing at any excuse you can to stay married?"

"I don't trust you."

"Well one sees what they want to see, Lorelai," she finished with a cocky tone, hiding the worry that clung to her heart. 'What's happening between me and Luke,' that's what Lorelai had said. And she was worried about what that meant.

"We'll see once her tuition is paid."

Lorelai was torn as she stalked away from her mother. She was hoping that it was just the mind games that Emily was so good at playing that was the source of her confusion. But she wasn't sure. Did she want to stay with Luke? And was she really so certain about her lack of a future with Christopher?

~TBC~

Up next: Recouping from the party. Also, from here on in the chapters are shorter.


	6. Sleep over!

There is a lot I want to say about the next chapter. But I won't. Until then, enjoy the reprieve.

~G.G~

Part 6: Sleep over!

Luke was waiting with Lorelai's coat and a concerned expression when she again joined them in the foyer. Rory had been right during the tour and they had heard enough of the muffled yells to know that things were not going well between the mother and daughter. He caught enough to know what they were arguing about: him, Rory and Christopher.

"They always like this?" He had asked the young woman as they walked around the pool.

She nodded, trying not to let the situation get to her any more than it already was, "Pretty much. At least when they're not ignoring each other or trying to be nice. Even then those situations usually lead to yelling."

"Do you and your mom get like this?"

"Sometimes, but usually our fights are over by the end of the commercial break." She smiled at him, "I'm lucky, I don't know what I would do if I had a different relationship with my mom."

"You know," he confessed, hands deep in his pockets and his eyes looking away from her, "You and your mom, it's a lot like the relationship I had with my Dad."

Rory's smile brightened, "Yeah?"

"More or less. We did more fishing than shopping, didn't eat junk and probably talked as much in six months as you two do in the course of one."

"No one talks as much as me and mom. I'm glad that you had that."

"Yeah, me too."

"I'm also glad that, you know... that you're here." She looked at him, her face flushed with embarrassment. Over the years that she'd known him she had always liked Luke, and had always appreciated everything he did for both her and her mother. And while she didn't always say the words, she had always felt that he knew that he was an important part of her life. but this - this was different. What he was doing, now, what it meant to have him there, not only on that night, but during this latest Gilmore drama, told her more than anything else he'd ever done - even more than when he had tried to make her stop crying when she skinned her knee at the age of ten and more than when he had tried to keep Dean away from her after their breakup - that he was in her life to stay.

He smiled, wondering for the first time if this was what it felt like to be a parent, and if it was, why he never thought to embrace it before, "Yeah, me too."

"Well," she started again once they lapsed into silence, "The yelling's stopped. That's a good sign. It means that they're talking. We should get back."

"Think there's going to be more fighting?"

"At this time of night, even odds."

They had returned to the foyer and gathered their things, Rory fastening her sweater while Luke awkwardly held his wife's purse and coat. When he saw her approaching he offered her his most reassuring expression, even though he knew it probably wasn't convincing. Not after the screams that he had heard.

He helped her into her coat, allowing his hands to rest on her shoulders a little longer than he would have a month ago, before he stepped back and watched as Lorelai engulfed her daughter in a hug.

"Everything go okay?" Rory asked between breaths.

"Fine. Food. Need. Thinking bad. Luke driving." Inhaling deeply, she stepped back and took in the pair before her.

"Want to talk about it?" Luke ventured, watching her closely even as he led the way to the door, slightly jealous of the way Lorelai and Rory had their arms around each other, holding one another for comfort.

"Not now, I just need to think. My keys are in my purse," she explained, feeling comfortable enough to let him root through her bag for them.

Instead he handed it to her, "I don't want to think about what else you might have in there."

Cracking a smile, she handed him the keys, breathing in the un-oppressed air outside before turning her attention back to Rory, "You okay to drive home?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Oh, remember Lane's coming over so..." she cast a look to Luke, blushing at the implications.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "There will be no hanky panky."

"Really? Cuz from what I walked in on..."

"Will you two stop that? I'm standing right here."

"Is she spending the night?" Lorelai asked, rooting through her purse even as Rory said she most likely was. "Here, get a pizza and a movie and make sure she put the key back in the turtle because I know that she's probably already in there waiting for you." She turned her attention to Luke, "Can we go to your place? We should talk."

They waited until Rory was under way before starting out on the dark roads. They didn't say anything but Lorelai knew that Luke felt more comfortable knowing that Rory was in front of him, so he wouldn't be too far away in case something happened.

"Have I ever thanked you for being so good with my kid?"

"Couple times, but I appreciate it. She's a good kid, makes it look easy." They fell silent, "So should we dive right into this or should we skirt the issue with some small talk?"

"My second cousin thinks you're hot."

He couldn't help the stupid grin that broke over his lips, "Small talk it is."

~G.G~

They drove most of the way in silence, each falling into their own thoughts: Luke his father and how close he was to being an actual part of a real family again; and Lorelai on her mother and the family that she could have had. Neither were any closer to feeling better about their individual topics when he pulled to a stop in front of the diner.

She steadied herself as she left the safety of her jeep, moving around to the back to pull out a small duffle bag. She met Luke's questioning eye from where he stood, unlocking the door.

"What? I need to change."

"So you carry around a change of clothes?"

"Two actually, it's always good to have choices and one never knows when you might need to change one's clothes." He looked confused. She rolled her eyes. "It's a girl thing, just keep moving."

"Coffee?"

"Only if I can drink it upstairs and in bare feet."

"You go up and change, I'll bring your coffee up when it's done."

Feeling more tired than she had in days, she trudged up the stairs, not surprised to find the door to the small apartment unlocked. Flicking on the light and kicking off her heels, she moved to the bathroom, intent on getting into something that felt as sloth-like as she currently did. It wasn't until she stood in the open bathroom doorway with the light on that she realized that something was different. Something had changed in the apartment. And, turning around, it didn't take long to realize what it was.

Luke had a bigger bed.

She blinked as she went to it, checking to see if Luke was coming before testing it out. It was firm but comfortable and it didn't squeak when she pushed on it. Was it broken in? Was it new? She tried to recall the last time she had been in his apartment. When was that? The day she told him about her mother's evil plot. Had it been there then? Was it something that came with Nicole or something else entirely? She couldn't remember. She had been too upset that day to recall the possible change. But it was a big change, a meaningful change. And it was one that Lorelai was sure she would have noticed. Even just for what it meant. It meant that he was ready to share. And while the obvious just spoke to him wanting to share his bed, her heart leapt at the thought that followed, that maybe, just maybe, he was ready to share his life as well.

"I brought the pot," Luke called as he came in. Stopping when he saw her still standing between his bathroom and bed, her bag forgotten at her feet. "What?"

"You have a new bed."

"Yeah."

"And it's bigger. Grown up size."

"I know," he said, still not understanding her wondrous expression.

"No, Luke! You. have. a. bigger. bed."

He looked around, wondering if he was the only person in the world who thought she was nutty. "I know, it's not that big of a deal. I kind of liked having a bigger bed on the cruise ship and came home and thought 'why not', and so I called the store and why are you looking at me like that?"

Blushing, and not able to explain to him the importance of this change at this time without feeling like he would know she's the idiot that he's long thought she was, she picked up the bag and retreated into the bathroom, quickly changing and silently wishing she had grabbed the other, and slightly less casual, change of clothes instead, well aware of the smile that refused to leave her lips.

When she came back out he had changed out of his suit, wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants that she had known he was going to be wearing instead.

"So," he began when she didn't make a move to say anything, "Ready to talk about it?"

She sagged, remembering the conversation that she had had with her mother not very long before, "Wha-oh yeah, right. That."

"How was it? It sounded pretty heated. What did she have to say?"

"Not much. She said she was satisfied. She got her chance to save face, and she figures by the time we navigate through all the red legal tape that I assume she means to put in the way, enough time will have passed and people will pity her for her daughter's failed marriage instead of talk about how she let me make poor life choices."

His body tightened, not liking the sound of that. "What red tape?"

"My family assets, as she calls it. Which is kind of funny since the only assets I have are my share of the inn, my mortgaged house with the extra loan I'm still paying off, Rory and whatever lamps you have yet to destroy."

"I don't want their money."

"I know that and you know that and I'm sure even my parents know that. But tell that to their lawyers."

"I'll probably have to," he mumbled, not looking forward to the coming months. "But other than that, that's it? No more ultimatums?" He asked, sinking down onto the bed, wondering if he should feel relieved or hurt at it ending so potentially easily.

"That's what she says but..."

"But?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I feel like she's playing with me, you know? I know she thinks she's doing what she feels is best for me, but her perception of my life has always been skewed - like Hitler's opinion of the Jews skewed. I told her that I'd see what happens after Rory's tuition was paid." She paused, never having thought of Luke's reaction to her volunteering to lengthen their relationship without asking him. "That's okay, right? I mean, you're okay leaving this for a little while longer?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Hell, the longer I stayed married the longer I don't have to worry about dating. I'm fine. Really. So, how about that coffee?"

"Yes please." She smiled at him as she watched him move about the small space, seeming all the smaller with him in it. She sat on the edge of the bed, accepting the hot mug when he brought it back, sitting beside her with a contented sigh. She watched him still as she took a sip, noticing at once the change. "This is decaf."

"It's almost midnight, of course it's decaf. You've been wound tight enough tonight without adding more of that crap into your system. So either you drink your decaf and quit your whining or you can go on home tonight."

She smiled, listening as he continued to rant about coffee and caffeine and her early death until he paused, arms falling to his sides in defeat as he noticed her expression, "What?"

"You want me to stay the night."

"I assumed it was going to happen."

"You bought a bigger bed."

"Look, you told Rory to get sleepover type foods for her and Lane and didn't tell her when you'd be back and..." he fell silent when he saw her smiling wider. He couldn't help himself and he smiled along with her. "Check up on Rory and then get in the damn bed."

Laughing, she caught the cordless phone that he tossed her before shooing her away from his bed mumbling all the while about how much work she was at times.

"Hey Mom," Rory greeted on the other line of the phone.

"How did you know it was me?"

"It's late, who else would be calling?"

"Uh, the drug dealers who are going to be showing up any time now to sell to the guys who are going to crash the party you don't want me to know you're having."

"We're watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."

"Kinky. So orgy?"

"Hardly."

"How are you my kid? Did I not teach you how to abuse the system when your mother isn't going to be home?"

"Well I didn't know you would not be coming home. I thought you were going over to Luke's to talk. You mentioned nothing about sleeping. I thought it was a talking only visit."

"I did, we did and then I figured you'd be well into your orgy and I didn't want to embarrass you by coming home in the middle of it."

"I think the better question is how are you my mother?" There was a pause, "Can I ask you something?"

Hearing the uncertainty, Lorelai glanced at Luke, making sure he was engrossed in his book, before moving to the other end of the apartment, "Sure, Hon. Anything."

"Things are going to be okay, aren't they?"

Lorelai smiled, remembering the way that Luke had watched out on the drive back for any sign of a car like Rory's. And she knew that no matter what else was going on in their lives, he would make sure that everything, that they, were going to be okay. "Yeah, everything's going to be fine."

"I really like Luke, Mom."

"I know you do, Kid." She paused, casting another look over her shoulder, "Can I ask you something now?"

"As long as it's not about drug dealers or orgies."

"Do you feel like you've missed out? I mean I know that it's important for a kid to have a dad in their lives..."

"Yeah, I guess it is. But, sure, I guess in a way I missed out on not having my dad there for me every day and sure Dad wasn't the most reliable, but when I needed him, I mean really needed him, he was there. And besides..."

"Besides?"

"There was always Luke. So I guess, in a way, these past few years I've had two. Goodnight Mom. I love you."

Lorelai inhaled a steadying breath, willing the tears not to fall, "I love you too. Now throw a party. Wreck the place!"

She hung up and went back to the bed where Luke was laying, her eyes still shimmering.

"You okay?" He asked, moving so she could get under the covers.

She nodded, "Yeah. I just have one hell of a kid."

He smiled, reaching out and wiping away the tear that escaped her eye, "That you do. Just like she has one hell of a mom." Leaning over, he kissed her temple, "Goodnight Lorelai."

"Goodnight Luke."

She watched him as he switched off the light and settled in for the night. She watched as he quickly fell asleep. She watched him still. The him that she didn't think would ever stop surprising her. The him that continued to give so much of himself without a thought of getting anything back again. The him that she wanted to give something back to. The him that she felt she had already given something back to.

She had fancied herself in love before. With Christopher and Max and Harrison Ford. But what she was feeling when she watched him reach for her in his sleep, a smile spreading over his lips as he held onto her, was different from anything she had ever felt before. It was deep and strong and terrifying and steadying, all at the same time. It was something new and something that she knew was going to be hard to shake. She just wasn't sure she wanted to.

~G.G~

Emily sat back and watched over the staff as they went about cleaning the mess that they had made of her kitchen, thinking about the events of the evening. Playing over and over in her head what Lorelai had said.

_'What's happening between me and Luke...'_

Knowing she only had one ace left up her sleeve, she picked up her phone and dialled the hardly used number. A smile broke over her lips as the familiar voice greeted her on the other end of the line, "Good evening Christopher. I need your help with something. I'm afraid Lorelai is making a terrible mistake..."

~TBC~

Next: shit hits the fan. Please don't hate me for what's about to happen.


	7. Shit, Meet Fan

I love how protective everyone is of Luke. No one wants to see him hurt. And while I can't promise that, I can say that he's not going to hurt alone, and not for long.

And for those who are not looking forward to Christopher... I'm sorry. Blame Emily, not me. But really, for Lorelai to move on from her 'what if' relationship fantasies of the past, he kind of needs to make an appearance. For the reviewers who are worried, well I hope I did okay. Please let me know.

~G.G~

Part 7: Shit, Meet Fan

There was peace in Stars Hollow. The rumour mill was still buzzing, as always, but had more or less moved on from the unusual union between the long-time friends. Rory began the almost endless preparations for Yale before she was to leave to spend time with her father, and Lorelai and Sookie threw themselves headlong into work on the Dragonfly. In between their individual pursuits, the mother and daughter spent their time together, going to the diner for meals, and expanding their movie nights to include Luke. The new speculation about the couple was that they were waiting for Rory to start school before they took their relationship to the next step.

A week had passed by since the uproar at the Gilmore house and that Friday, while Rory dutifully, if not a little grudgingly, went to dinner; Lorelai was getting ready to go to dinner with Luke. She heard Rory's car leave as she was getting dressed. Luke would be there soon to pick her up, to finally talk about the topic that they had long been putting off. Even though they hadn't received word about the tuition being paid, it was still time to broach the subject of divorce lawyers. And while neither wanted to be the one to push the subject, or even to be the first to mention it, they both knew that they were expected to talk about it. After all, neither were aware of just how painful and uncomfortable that topic had grown to be for the other.

There was knock at the door and Lorelai rolled her eyes. Luke was early. Had he learned nothing about her in the time he's known her? Shouting down for him to come in, she finished securing her necklace in place, freezing in place on the stairs when she saw who had come in Luke's stead.

"Christopher." What was he doing there?

"Hey, Lor, you look nice. I hear I owe you best wishes. You're married."

"So are you," she crossed her arms, nervously shifting her weight. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mother called me."

"Of course she did." She looked down. she really shouldn't have been surprised it would come to this. Her mother knew the weakness that came with Christopher's presence in her life. The safe haven of the past and the what if's that always filtered into her mind when she should have been thinking about the missed phone calls and the disappointed expression her daughter always wore when he broke yet another promise. The same expression Lorelai, herself, wore when he continued to disappoint them both.

"I would have been here sooner, but I was out of town. Only just got back."

"For work?" She asked, filled with nervous energy, like when you're watching a horror film and are waiting for the guy in the mask to jump out. In her head, the Jaws theme was already playing.

"Yes, it's going really well."

"Oh, that's nice. What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you, to see how you're doing."

She rolled her eyes, walking down the rest of the stairs. One of the benefits of having known him since he was too young to fit his full name, was that she could read him. And she knew that he wasn't being as honest with her as they both knew he should be. "Don't lie."

He sighed and she wondered if he had been drinking. "I needed to know why you did it. Why did you marry him? Revenge?"

She took a step back when he took one forward, knowing the importance of distance, especially in moments like this. "You and my mother have to stop thinking everything is about you. Because it's not. And this marriage..."

"Fake marriage," he amended.

"Whatever! It's still none of your business, Christopher. You lost that chance a long time ago."

"Not so long ago."

"That's not the point," she stamped her foot, getting frustrated at having him there. At having him nearby when he wasn't willing to think of anything beyond what he wanted to believe was right. When he wasn't willing to believe her when she said what he wanted was wrong. She was only one person, and it was hard being strong for both of them. "What do you want from me? Because what we've been doing really sucks and I can't do it any more. I won't do it. It isn't fair to either of us to keep doing this."

"I know, Lor. I just need to know if you still love me."

Her tone softened. "Of course I love you, Chris. You gave me Rory."

"And do you ever think we would have been better off if we'd just have gotten together? If you had of just said yes?"

"Yes," she admitted, giving into the comfort of the past as she tried to console him to the present, "Sometimes, sure. I used to think that all the time when I was saving for this house and run off my feet with work and would cry myself to sleep after Rory went to bed because I was in over my head. I used to want to go to you and beg you to come back and to make us a family again. But I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't do that to Rory. Because you weren't ready for us. Not full time. I still don't think you are, I just think you now want to be."

"What changed?" He asked, looking around the cozy living room.

"What?"

"Between saving for the house and getting it? What changed?" He looked at her and left unsaid the question that both were better off not knowing the answer too.

"I don't want to fight about this. I want you to be happy."

"Do you love him? Emily said that you haven't filed for divorce yet. It's been a week since she told you that you were free to file. What's stopping you?"

"I told her I wasn't going to make a move until Rory's first year was paid for. And I haven't gotten the memo that it had been. Or did you bring that with you since you're now running her errands for her?"

"This has nothing to do with your mother. And, you didn't answer my question. Do you love him?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because he's been a part of your life, of my daughter's life. I think I deserve to know who you're bringing into it."

"Because I got a say with Sherry? That's rich, Christopher, real rich. How dare you come into my life, my home, demanding the right to know my feelings for someone whom you've never..."

He kissed her. He had figured it was really the only way to tell for sure. Not what she felt for Luke, but rather - what was more important to him - what she felt for him. The father of her child. He ran his fingers over her cheeks, down her neck and arms to her waist, holding her tightly to him as his mind replayed all of the kisses he remembered them sharing over the years - over a lifetime. And as he pulled away he knew the truth before even seeing it in her eyes. He could tell it by the way she kissed him. After so many years of knowing how they worked together, of picking right up where they had left off no matter who they were seeing in the meantime; after years of being perfectly in sync, she had finally kissed him back as though she had grown used to kissing somebody else.

"Yes," she whispered, taking a step away, her lip trembling at the truth, at the answers she found in the kiss that was wrong for all the right reasons, "I think I do. And I think you should go."

Licking his lip, remembering the taste of her over the years, he steadied himself, nodding once and then left, not looking back at the man who had been standing in the shadows, watching everything take place.

~G.G~

Lorelai swallowed hard before going into the empty diner. It was dinner and after Christopher had left the night before, Luke didn't show up and she was too unsure of the situation and her feelings to know if she should have gone to him.

She loved him. And it scared her. It scared her to be married to the man that she loved so much that it hurt her to think of leaving.

She had spent a long, sleepless night playing with the ring that she couldn't bare taking off. The inexpensive ring that they had bought in the cruise ship's gift shop, during the short time it took between asking the captain to marry them and when the ceremony actually took place. It was now a reminder to her of everything she gained in those short weeks, and now everything she risked losing.

The night of worry had taken its toll on her. She was late and didn't have a chance to get the coffee she knew she sorely needed. And as the day wore on her nerves only got worse. Sookie noticed the change but didn't comment on it, knowing her friend well enough to know that the stubborn woman would mention it when she needed someone to talk to. And now as she approached the diner, where she had heard from Miss Patty that Luke wasn't in a cheery mood at all, she wondered if she could bring herself to go in.

Steeling herself, she opened the door, forcing a smile on her face as she entered the diner, sliding onto a stool at the counter. "Hey you. I didn't see you last night."

"Was busy," he told her without looking up from his order pad.

"Too busy to call?" She asked, trying to smile and keep her voice even; and trying not to think how much she sounded like a wife.

He slammed the pad onto the counter, "I didn't think you'd really notice."

She blinked, taken aback at his coldness, "What is with you?"

He shrugged, failing at playing it cool. "Nothing is with me."

"Luke..."

"I mean why would anything be with me? I only went to your house and saw you through the window kissing somebody who looked a lot like Christopher," he hissed, looking around to make sure no one was watching or about to come in, "So really, since I figure this is just another round in the eternal dance that the two of you do in your long, drawn-out mating ritual, there is absolutely nothing with me. I just thought this time was different. That we were different. But, surprise surprise, I was wrong. Just another place holder. So now I'm here, trying to work while feeling like an idiot."

"You came? You saw? Luke…"

The bell ringing above the door stopped any excuse she might have thought to make. Not that she had any ready. It was one of the rare moments when Lorelai Gilmore didn't have anything to say.

"There you are," Babette called, coming in with Sookie and Rory, "You're both needed at Miss Patty's."

Rory and Sookie could see the tension between the pair, but they knew they couldn't do anything about it. Not with Babette there, urging them out the door.

"I have work to do," Luke grumbled.

"That can wait, Sugah," she assured him, already succeeding in bringing the shocked Lorelai closer to the door, "You aren't gonna have anyone else tonight. Everyone's gonna be there."

"What's going on?" He asked, eyeing the suddenly guilty-looking accomplices with the blonde.

"It's a surprise," Babette almost shouted, her excitement bubbling over.

"Mom?" Rory asked, catching the hurt in her mother's expression.

Luke's eye met the teen's and any argument that he could make, any scene he wanted to cause, any fight he wanted to continue, left him. After all, there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for that kid. Even break his own heart. "Let's go."

Miss Patty's was dark when they approached it, and the barn doors were slid shut. With Sookie and Rory watching the pair closely, Babette stopped them on the stoop, ran forward and knocked on the doors. They slid open quickly, the light flicking on in time as the crowd waiting inside shouted 'surprise!'.

"It's a wedding reception," Babette explained, her expression beaming, "Since you kids went off and had the ceremony without us."

It was too much. The entire town, almost, had gathered together for this. Lane's band was playing and Sookie had cooked and Kirk had even done a poor painting of the couple as his voice had given out from his stint as town crier. But, he did get a collection of shoes for his efforts - he just didn't understand why everyone had thrown them at him. And why only one instead of the pair.

Luke couldn't step inside. As Babette went into the festivities, and Sookie and Rory stepped inside to give them some space, Lorelai turned and looked at him, "Will you let me explain?"

"I don't think there's anything that really needs to be explained, do you?" He asked, turning on his heel and moving back towards the diner. He paused when he heard her start to come after him. That wasn't what he needed. He couldn't handle seeing her trying to talk him out of how he knew he had a right to feel. Like this was the end. "Tell you what, you just go and tell me when your mother signs the big, fat check to Rory's school and I'll take care of the rest. Now if you don't mind, I have a business to get back to."

"Luke..." she stopped when she saw his expression. It was cold and unreadable. He was hurt. She had hurt him. "It wasn't what it looked like," she managed to get out although it sounded weak, even to her.

"Just go back to him. It's what everyone wants."

~TBC~

Up next: the end.

Please leave a review, they make my day/night/that awkward time just before dawn when you should really be sleeping.


	8. Just Like Jerry

So, this is it. It didn't turn out quite how I wanted, but it took itself there, so I figured I had to go with it.

I hope you enjoy.

~G.G~

Part 8: Just Like Jerry

Rory had seen the fight - or non-fight - between her mother and Luke, and she was nervous. She had lied to her mom. And she had lied to Luke. But she thought she was helping by doing what she did. She thought they just needed time to figure things out and make them work.

She didn't know much about family, and she would admit to spending more time than was healthy imagining her parents getting together. But now, seeing her mother and Luke together, she realized how much better reality was to her childish fantasy.

Then she had seen them at Miss Patty's - seen them give up and walk away when they should have celebrated being together. The determination in Luke's walk, the slump in her mothers shoulders… it told her everything she needed to know. What she had thought was reality was just another fantasy, was just adults playing make believe as children playing house.

She had been as wrong about them as she had been about her parents. No wonder her own relationships ended badly - she really didn't know anything about love.

Hearing the crowd behind her murmuring, knowing that by tomorrow everyone would again be buzzing with the probable end to the sudden relationship, and Taylor would be crowing at being vindicated for his fears, she felt sick to her stomach. She needed to talk to her mother. She needed to set things right, no matter how wrong it seemed to her to be.

She inhaled deeply as she tried the front door, not surprised when she heard the television going inside.

"Mom," she said in a worried tone, not sure what kind of state she would find her mother in after the fight that was turning her town into a mill specializing in rumours.

"Hey Hon," Lorelai called, coming down stairs wrapped in an over sized sweater and her comfort sweats. And Rory's worry grew: those were signs that her mother was set for a marathon mope.

"Are you alright?" She asked, surveying that sea of junk that was already setting on the coffee table, The Way We Were primed on the television. Things were definitely worse than she thought they'd be. There was a knot in her stomach, and she couldn't help but hope, in that place where there was a happy ending for every love story, that she knew the reason why.

Lorelai tightened her arms around her, her eyes red from tears, "Yeah, I'll be alright." She paused, knowing her daughter better than she knew herself some days. They were more alike than was probably healthy for the younger woman. And Lorelai knew the look that her daughter wore. The look of trying to stay put together when you were quickly unraveling at the seams. "Hey, what is it? Are _you_ okay?"

Lorelai moved to the couch, her own emotional state falling into the backseat when Rory resisted joining her. There was no mistaking the hurt and the confusion and worry in her eyes. Was she upset about what happened with Luke? This was why Lorelai tried to keep her relationships separate, she reasoned as she dragged her daughter down onto the couch, everything else forgotten. She never liked to see her daughter hurt, especially when she was at least part of the reason for her being hurt. And, considering her own pain that wanted her to wallow in it, she was glad to focus on something other than her own unraveling seams.

"I'm so sorry," Rory rushed when she finally forced out the words, not looking from her shoes, guilt lacing every hurried word. "I was stupid and selfish and I didn't think that you might not want it too. I mean how could I do that to you and to Luke?"

"Whoa! What did you do? Talk to me. And breath, remember to breath."

Waiting until she was calmer, Rory finally endeavoured to meet her mother's eye, "I lied to you."

Lorelai blinked, surprised. "What?"

"It was more withholding the truth. Last week at the party, Grandpa gave me the cheque for school. I was suppose to tell you. And I didn't. I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have tried to force you to stay together if it wasn't what you really wanted. I thought it was, though. You were happy, you both were happy playing along. I thought that maybe with time, it could be real. But that was stupid and childish and I ruined everything."

Lorelai frowned, pulling her daughter closer, her sadness edging through the cracking seams of her self-control, "Oh Rory. None of this is your fault. Everyone just got caught up in the moment, in the thought of me and Luke together. I did too, Kid."

Rory pulled away, studying her mother's expression closely. "You did? It was real?"

A sad smile spread over her trembling lips. "Yeah. It was nice. It was easy. It was… Luke. All along." She gave a sad shrug, not knowing how else to put it, "He's Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects."

Rory fell silent, putting together all the pieces that she hadn't thus far connected: The smiles that stayed long after they went home, the humming for no reason at all, the care in picking her clothes... and now the depression that was quickly eating away at her mother. Rory had never seen her looking so sad. Not even after Christopher or Max or when Mia left or when the Bangles broke up. For the first time, Rory understood what it meant to really be in love. "Mom, you love him?"

Lorelai's throat caught as the last of her walls fell and her heart was drowning in sorrow. She could only nod.

"Oh, mom."

"I- I hope you aren't mad at me for ruining everything. Again."

Rory held her mother, her best friend, close, trying to solace the pain that neither of them could reach the source of. "I'm sure you didn't ruin it."

"I did." She said between sobs. "I made him stay in this stupid marriage. I let myself to get close to him. I made him get close to me."

"He wouldn't have done anything he wouldn't have wanted to do. You know Luke. You can only make him agree to the things he secretly wants to do."

Lorelai sat up, not wanting to be comforted, not when she felt she deserved to feel bad. Not when she didn't want to believe the words her daughter offered. There was too much danger in thinking happy thoughts. "Then why did he walk away? That's not what we do. We push. We fight. We argue and yell and hate each other for a time, but we don't just give up and walk away... Besides you and Sookie, he's my best friend. And I lost him."

She broke, and held Rory as tightly as she was being held.

"What are you going to do?" Rory asked after a long moment of being afraid to bring reality back to the shield from reality they often found when together.

Lorelai could only shrug, her frown deepening. "He didn't want to fight with me. That has to mean something."

"You could ask him."

"And risk his not fighting again?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Neither does his not wanting to fight with me. That's our thing. No matter how bad things got, I knew that we were all right when we fought. When he ranted. When I raved. Without that…" she looked around, pulling herself together, knowing that there was only thing left for her to do. The one thing that would finish the job of breaking her heart completely. She knew that it was the easy way out, but the other option - that of pushing further, that of hoping she was wrong - wouldn't just break her heart, but crush it entirely. Rory wasn't the only one who was learning the depths of real love. "I have to tell him."

"That you love him?"

She shook her head. "That the money came through. That he's getting his divorce."

"Is that really what you want to do?"

Lorelai studied her daughter's hopeful expression, the love and the want that lived there. The hope that everything would still work out. The hope that, somewhere out in the world, there were still Prince Charmings and happily ever afters. "No," she admitted, tired of the lies that she had been telling everyone for so long. Even herself. "You were right, and he's been a part of our family for a long time. So long that I don't know how to be one without him in it." She felt herself wanting to cry again. "But if he won't fight with me over something as important as us, then what's the point? Obviously it's not that important to him. We're not his family."

~G.G~

How had he gotten here? Exactly where he had always thought he wanted to be. A living dream. And the one place where it seemed he wasn't suppose to actually be. With Lorelai.

He'd been a part of her life for a long time, and had known her - really known her - for what felt like forever. It was easy being in her life, she drew him in in a way that he hadn't felt in a very long time. Not since his father died and his sister ran away and he found himself having to stand on his own, for his family that was falling apart around him. He was the strong one. At one point in time that thought used to make him laugh, or want to run and drink and hide. He never thought he was ready for the life he found himself living. Never thought he was really the man that everyone thought him to be.

And then he met Lorelai and all the pieces fit. All the different parts of him that he had fought or couldn't understand suddenly made sense. His life, everything in it, all the trials that he's faced, everything that made him into the man he now was, was all to prepare him to be the man she could be with.

But even after two weeks on the cruise and a further two married to him - one of the best months he could remember - that was something she still couldn't see. She was still lost in the world that she had fought her entire life against: the world of her parents and Hartford and Christopher.

Luke wasn't stupid. He knew the relationship they had. He knew the escape that they had offered one another growing up. He knew that in an alternate universe, they were together in a house that cost more than he would ever earn. They'd give Rory multiple siblings that would reek terror on all their peers because there was too much of their mother in them. and they'd be happy. A family. The family that he knew that Lorelai had always missed. The whole package that she longed for.

He understood that longing. He wanted it too. More than he had ever thought. He wanted the house and the wife and the kids. He wanted the world, whatever world, that would come from a life with Lorelai.

If only she wanted that life with him.

Was he really going to risk what they already had - their friendship - to try to convince her that that life with him's what she really wanted? Would he be satisfied with just having those stolen moments after having so much of her? He had come so close to having her all. Should he give up that easily? Without a fight?

No matter what happened, he knew, he was the one who was going to lose. He loved her. He'd been aware of it on some level for years. But over the past month he'd learned it again and again every single day. And every day he learned that there was only one thing that really mattered to him. That was that Lorelai Gilmore was happy.

~G.G~

Lorelai stalked back and forth in front of Kim's Antiques, staring down the diner. Lane had been right, and she really did have a clear view of everything that was going on inside. She could see Kirk and Andrew and Reverend Skinner and Caesar. And every so often a flash of blue plaid - the shirt Rory had given him years before as a thank-you for helping teach her to drive. Lorelai remembered helping Rory to pick it out. The colour matched his eyes.

She wished he was wearing something else. Anything else. It would have been easier had he been wearing something else instead of the slap in the face reminder that she was losing the family she had built for herself. The family she needed. Too bad she couldn't say the same for him.

She watched him for a moment. He didn't look happy. Good. at least she wasn't suffering alone.

She knew she was going to have to make her move soon, and actually cross the square and talk to him. But luckily soon wasn't now.

She paced back and forth a few more times before gathering her nerves and turning towards the diner. She made it past the gazebo when she coaxed herself to look up from the ground in front of her. Just in time to watch Luke step outside. He seemed surprised when he noticed her standing there. And then, she couldn't move. She was just standing there, watching as he made his way to her, moving almost in slow motion.

"How long have you been out here?" He asked, looking around anywhere but at her. There was pain reflecting in her eyes. Pain that he had caused. He hated himself for knowing that had hurt her. No matter how much torture she put him through, knowingly or not, the last thing he ever wanted, was her to hurt in kind.

His hands were in his pockets, his body rigid. Her shoulders were slumped and her arms crossed in front of her. Both of them deal with the uncertainty that came with that moment.

"A while," she admitted, watching the ground. "I didn't know if you wanted to see me."

"I didn't know that either," he confessed, his tone tight, not giving anything away. "Why are you here?"

"I just... Look, I get that you're done, and that you want to get rid of me. I'm sorry about all of this, but I need you to know that that night, was not what you think it was. My mother sent Christopher over to make sure that I was going to go through with the divorce. I didn't kiss him. He kissed me. And I-I didn't let it go on. Luke I..." she saw the confusion and pain mixing in his expression at the reminder. Had she been able to see past her own hurt feelings she might have looked for a reason behind it. Instead she did the only thing she could think of to make everything better for him, she finished what she had gone there to say. "Rory cashed the cheque this morning. So, you're getting your wish. You're free of me. And don't worry because I'll do all of it."

"All of what?"

"Deal with the divorce lawyers and the red tape. Everything. This isn't your mess. It's mine. I'll take care of it. You don't have to worry about it. You don't have to deal with any of it. Not my parents or my ex or me or anything that comes from it."

He sighed, but she wouldn't look at him. "Lorelai..."

"Just promise me one thing?" She asked, her voice unsteady, her arms wrapping tighter around herself.

"What?"

"That no matter what you feel about me, no matter if you no longer want to be my friend or ever see me again, promise me that you'll still love my kid?"

He swallowed back the lump that tried to stop him from speaking. "Always."

She held back the emotion that was spilling through her words. After so many of them, Lorelai was finally learning how much hurt came with goodbyes. "Good, because if anything happens to me, she'll need you."

"I'm here," he told her. "Lorelai, you don't have to do this alone…"

"Yes I do. I owe this to you. Just give me the information I need. You said you knew a lawyer. I'm assuming it's not Nicole."

"No, it's not."

"I'm sorry about that too. Ruining getting back with her, if that's what you wanted."

Sighing, feeling the defeat of the moment, Luke pulled his wallet out and took out the card from the back slot in the aged leather. Without looking at her or it, he handed it to her and then turned to walk away, telling himself over and over that it was better this way. At least now there was a chance to still be on the edge of her life instead of where he feared he'd be otherwise: forgotten.

"It really wasn't what it looked like," she called after him, glad when he paused in his retreat to listen to her words, "I will always love Christopher because of our history together. Because of Rory. But that's it. It's all past tense, finished, that's all folks. And I'm sorry if seeing that hurt you because I don't want to hurt you. Ever. And I- I really am sorry."

She looked down to the ground when he started back towards the diner. There, right where he had just stood was a folded scrap of flattened paper. Curious, she stooped and picked it up. Her throat tightened as she saw what was written on it. It was a hastily written horoscope under the Scorpio sign scrawled in her own hand. And she remembered it. She remembered giving it to him in order to win him over enough to give her coffee. It was the first time they met. It was the beginning of them.

And he had kept it!

Why would be have done that if he didn't care - really care - about her?

Egged on by the hope in that knowledge, she rushed back to the diner, ignoring the traffic light as she jogged across the empty lanes of traffic, up the stairs and through the door, breathless for nerves and encouragement.

She met his eyes. He didn't move from where he stood, at the end of the counter, near the back room, coffee pot resting on the clean counter top. And he waited. With a shaking grip she held out the scrap, "You dropped this."

His eyes dropped to the floor. He had been caught.

A smile curved her lips. "You kept this? All this time? Why?"

He looked up and sought her eyes and held her gaze and she knew. She knew that everything everyone had told her was right. He had waited and he had watched and he had cared. For all these years. He had cared. And he had carried a piece of her with him.

"You should know why," he said in a low tone that brought a smile fully to her lips to hear. It was the tone that she swore he saved just for her, for those moments when they weren't fighting or bickering or teasing. The tone when all the walls came down and they were there, just them without lies or armour or excuses, bare for each other to see. He shrugged, taking the paper from her fingers.

Eyes blinking clear, she looked around, seeing the eyes watching her far too closely. "Can we talk? For a minute, please?"

He paused and she was afraid that he was going to say no. And then he nodded, called to Caesar and then led the way upstairs, holding the door open to his apartment for her to pass through. She looked around as he closed the door. And she smiled. He had gotten a bigger bed.

"You wanted to talk?"

She nodded, taking the card with the lawyer's number out of her back pocket and tore it in half. "I changed my mind on the divorce."

He crossed his arms, not sure what she was doing but knowing that he had been found out enough to have no other choice but to hope and to hear what she had to say. "Oh?"

"Yes, because I discovered some things recently. I discovered family. And I discovered how terrifying it is to really fall in love. It's something that I never had to worry about before. Before you. And now when I think about getting a divorce, when I think about losing you, of breaking our family, it hurts. Physically hurts. So, I'm sorry but if you really want that divorce, you're going to have to fight me for it."

"Are you serious?" He asked, hope dancing in his blue eyes.

She nodded, glad to see his arms fall to his sides as she stepped closer to him. "Very."

"Because you can't just say this and then go and change your mind later on." He said, his tone leaving no room for arguments. Not that she had any. "After right now, the only way you'll be getting out of this is by driving me crazy."

She paused, taking in the annoyed and yet happy seriousness of the man before her. She knew that if she stayed silent for long enough he would launch into a rant, or start what would becoming an argument. A fight. And she knew that there was no where else she'd rather be. "Ten years?" She smiled, "It's a start."

~G.G~

The house was chaos. Everywhere you looked and went to step, there were boxes. So many boxes. Some were put together neatly, labelled with post-its and coloured markers while the others were basically tossed together. That was the only way to know for sure which were coming into the house and which were preparing to leave.

The chaos inside the house was reflected by the chaos of Lorelai's emotions as she entered her kitchen, where Luke and Rory stood, side-by-side, talking about the schedule for tomorrow's move as she helped him prepare dinner. Who knew her daughter wasn't helpless in the kitchen?

"Are you sure about taking the time off? You really don't have to help," she was assuring him, "I'm sure mom can convince enough guys to help move my stuff into the dorms. That way you can stay and unpack. Settle in."

"Rory," he sighed, stopping mid-chop, once again reminded of whose daughter she was. "I'm helping to move you into the dorms. That's it. No arguments. Not only do I want my truck back in one piece - I have seen your mother drive a stick - I want to make sure those guys that you seem to think are so willing to help you move are really the kind of guys you should have around. Again, I've seen your mother's taste in men."

Rory's smile widened, "She seemed to pick you just fine."

"Well, law of averages," he told her with a smile and a wink, "She was bound to get one right eventually."

"Hey now," she called, coming into the room fully, sitting at the table with a content smile, "I'm right here you know."

"Television all set?" Rory asked, turning to her mother.

"All three Godfather movies primed and raring to go. Just waiting on you two and dinner."

Rory turned to look at her step-father, "I still can't believe you've never seen the Godfather."

"Don't worry, by the time you graduate we'll have him up to speed on all the classics."

He sighed, "Can't wait. I suppose there is no way I'm getting out of movie night, is there?"

"Not unless the diner catches fire. Just wait til you watch Sophia die over and over."

Rory frowned, "You're pretty much in a lose-lose situation."

Lorelai focused on her daughter, "Speaking about losing, how am I going to live without you here oh child of mine? How will I go through the day without your presence showering sunlight down upon me? And, more importantly, what am I going to do with your room?"

"My room?" The teen asked, sharing a confused look with Luke. "What do you have planned for my room?"

"Well, Jackson wanted to rent it for storing his antique tools in, and Sookie suggested I turn it into a sewing room. And I won't even suggest what Patty suggested we do upon hearing Luke was moving in."

"Very funny."

Smiling wider, Lorelai continued, "But finally, after weeks of deliberation, I have it! I know what I'm going to do with it."

"What is she talking about?" Rory asked Luke.

He shook his head. "She's your mother."

"Okay, I'll bite. What have you decided to turn my room into?"

Eyes sparkling, her smiling knowing, she look at each of them in turn, drawing out the moment as long as she could. "A nursery."

Rory reacted first, yelling and jumping excitedly with her mother while Luke came to terms with the news. There was going to be another Gilmore. "Replacing me already?" Rory asked, pulling Luke into a hug with her mother.

"Well, you're 18, you can get your own house." She looked to Luke. "You okay?"

He just nodded.

"Are you really going to make my room a nursery?"

Luke turned his attention to his wife, "This is why you mentioned doing an addition?"

"Surprise!"

They soon settled down on the couch, Lorelai between her daughter and her husband, with another child growing just under where her hand rested on her stomach. Her family. After so long of wondering what had been missing from her life, she found it: the word to describe what she already had.

~END~

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed.

I have a couple more fics that I'm working on, slowly. But if you have any ideas or prompts, please send them my way. I love those!


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